#Here's How Long Eggs Last—and How to Tell If They're Bad

[ausetkmt]

Eat This, Not That: Here's How Long Eggs Last—and How to Tell If They're Bad

Eggs are considered a superfood for good reason. Though small and savory, eggs pack a mighty nutrient-dense punch that's rich in essential macros and micros, including protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and more. In fact, Americans are so eggstatic over eggs that we consumed an average of 277 eggs per person in 2022—and this number is expected to climb slightly above 288 eggs per capita by 2023, according to data from Statista.

Despite our collective love affair with eggs, recent shortages resulting from the latest avian flu outbreaks coupled with inflation and rising food costs across many grocery categories have made this fragile food a more precious commodity. So when you do find yourself a gorgeous carton of fresh eggs while grocery shopping, you'll surely want to get the best out of your investment. This means not allowing your eggs to go to waste before you're ready to eat and enjoy them.

But how long do eggs stay fresh, and how can you tell whether or not your eggs have gone bad? Keep reading to learn how to tell if your eggs are past their prime—and for more tips on keeping food fresh, be sure to check out How To Prevent Avocados From Going Bad Too Quickly, According to Chefs.

How long do eggs last?

According to the USDA, eggs have a fairly long shelf life. After being refrigerated at 40°F or slightly below, raw eggs still in their uncracked shells can last for three to five weeks. However, the clock on their freshness really begins before they are even distributed to grocery stores.

Every carton sold by major and minor grocery stores should include the following three imprints: a pack-by date, best-by date, and sell-by or expiration (EXP) date. The "pack-by" date denotes the day that the eggs were originally packed in their carton. Typically, this is a three-digit number that falls between 001–365, with each trilogy of digits corresponding to a day in the year. For example, "001" represents January 1, and "356" stands for December 31. So, if your eggs were packaged on February 17, the pack-by date on the carton would say "048."

The "best-by" date tells you how long the eggs are expected to maintain their Grade A quality status, which is roughly around 28–35 days after they are packaged. Readers Digest notes that according to the USDA, eating eggs beyond their best-by date can still sometimes be safe, but be warned that this can also impact the quality of their taste. For the freshest eggs, always be sure to pick up a carton before the "best-by" date. The EXP date notes the last day your eggs are projected to still be good.

Although these numbers are a useful gauge of freshness, it's important to note that these are merely indicators. As the USDA notes, "Inspection, for wholesomeness, is mandatory but grading, for quality, is voluntary." Additionally, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources explains that "use of either a 'Sell-By' or 'Expiration' (EXP) date is not federally required, but may be state required, as defined by the egg laws in the state where the eggs are marketed. Some state egg laws do not allow the use of a 'sell-by' date."

This lack of federal oversight suggests that keeping your eggs fresh beyond their projected expiration is kind of a luck of the draw. But you don't have to roll the dice and risk illness by consuming spoiled food to determine whether or not your eggs are still good. Between the use of your five senses and a few helpful hacks, you can easily make sure they're still safe enough to eat while also prolonging their shelf life.

RELATED: Can Eggs Improve Cognitive Function? New Research Suggests They May

How do you know if your eggs are past their prime?

Before you add a carton of eggs to your cart, open it up and check for cracks in the shells. Even if you see a hairline fracture on the external surface of your eggs, consider that carton unsalvageable and do not take them home. Other visual cues signifying a bad batch of raw, in-shell eggs include a slimy or powdery surface.

You can also check an egg's freshness by testing its buoyancy. If after (carefully) dropping your raw, still-shelled egg into a bowl of cold tap water you see that it floats, chances are it's an old one. Although this doesn't mean it's necessarily unsafe to eat, it's worth mentally clocking this observation before testing its scent.

Perhaps the easiest, most telltale sign to know whether or not your eggs are still good or if they've spoiled is to give them a quick whiff. Whether cooked or raw, rotten eggs have a distinctly pungent, sulfuric-like stank—so if your eggs smell funky and it's well beyond the EXP date, it's time to toss them out.

Tips for keeping your eggs fresh

Here are a few recommendations to help support and sustain the freshness of your eggs:

After picking up your eggs from the grocery, get them home and into your fridge ASAP. Don't let them sit out for two hours or more at room temperature.

Avoid putting your eggs in the door of the fridge. This not only makes them susceptible to cracking, but this area also tends to run at a slightly warmer temperature in most fridge models, which can accelerate their aging while depleting the quality.

Keep your eggs in the carton they came in. These containers are designed to minimize water loss and mitigate the absorption of other food flavors in your fridge, which can adversely impact the eggs' taste quality.

For the freshest eggs, you'll want to keep them in the coldest part of your refrigerator, which tends to be toward the back near the thermostat. As previously mentioned, the sweet spot for freshness is about 40°F if not lower.

[bigification]

Step Daddy

"You really need to get over your stepdad man." My friend tells me, concerned.

"Look, I'll try this one last thing and if it doesn't work then I'll give it up." I respond. "Did you bring the sunglasses?"

"Yes, but just remember he's like 25 years older than you. He's probably not going to be into you, even after this." He says as he hands me a pair of old pilot shades.

I told him I could let it go, but I can't. I'm just putting all my eggs into this basket, the sunglasses. Apparently they're supposed to transform someone who wears them mentally and physically to match my type. He already is my type, but I guess I wouldn't mind him bulking up a bit and growing some hair. It would be sexy if he got more charming, but he's already charming as it is. I guess there's only one way to find out.

I wait on the living room couch watching tv. He always gets home from work at the same time, so I know he'll be here any minute. I sit and stare at my reflection in the glasses. Am I really ready to change this man's life so drastically. My friend said no one else would take notice of the change, so it'll be like nothing happened. As I'm thinking over it, I hear the roar of his engine from the driveway. I try to calm down, but I can feel my body vibrate from the nerves. The door flies open.

"Hey buddy, hows it goin?" He asks me with his hot southern accent.

"Not bad. By the way, I found these sunglasses lying around, and assumed they were yours." I try to play it cool as I lie to his face.

"Oh, thanks. But these aren't mine." He responds.

"Well you might as well keep em, they don't fit me anyway." I try to convince him to take them without seeming too pushy.

"Well alright, thanks kid." He swipes the glasses and throws them on.

That was easier than I thought. As soon as he put them on, he stopped moving. His jaw slacked as if there was not a thought running through his mind. It started slow, his button up started to look a little bit tighter. His once flat chest started to push against his shirt and the shape of a belly started to show. Then it started to speed up. His chest started to pulse, growing in size with each one. They grew until the button on his collar popped off, then another button popped, then another and another. His juicy pecs flopped down after being released from his shirt. His stomach was next. His midsection widened and his stomach grew into a respectable beer belly, straining against his shirt. It wasn't long before more buttons began to pop, until his shirt was completely open. His arms also looked like they doubled in size, filling out his sleeves with thick muscles.

Next his legs start to look like they're gonna burst out of his dress pants. I can hear the rips ripple through his pants as his thighs grow inside of them. His ass fills out all the space in his pants and proceeds to rip open his fly and snap his belt in half. I can tell his underwear is barely staying in one piece as a large bulge formed in between his legs.

Finally his face begins to change. His once skinny face fills out with fat, giving him a rounder look. I can see that hair is falling out of his hat until he is left completely bald under there. Though in return his clean shaven face grows a bushy beard. But the hair doesn't stop there. It continues down his chest and to his belly, and presumably the rest of his body. He finally regains control of his body. He sighs as he stretched out his arms and cracks his knuckles before looking right at me.

"Come here, son." He says in a deep buttery voice.

A shock travels through my spine as I think he might know what I've done to him.

"What'd I say boy!" He raises his voice.

I jump a bit before I walk closer to him. I realize how imposing he is up close. He must have gotten taller because he seems well over six feet tall now, and at least 250 pounds.

"Daddy had a stressful day, why don't you help him release some tension." He says as he pushes me to my knees.

I blush, this is everything I wanted from this, it just happened so much faster than I thought.

"Don't be shy, boy. This will be our little secret." He says as he pulls his underwear down.

[heartfullofleeches]

What if someone from "Sheep"'s old pack came back around and tried to expose them, maybe for joy in suffering or to get people to split away and have an easy meal?

Sorry if this read weird I'm tired as hell

(I doubt any of them would recognize "Sheep" after all these years, but here's what would happen if any predator tried to reveal "Sheep's" identity.")

[Warnings Physical Violence, "Sheep" has a panic attack.]

-

"How stupid can you lot be?"

No...This isn't real. It's all a bad dream, right? You'll wake up any minute now, surrounded by all your friends and neighbors you've yet to acquaint yourself with. Perhaps you'll finally join Rabbit on one of their picnics. Or maybe Swan can teach you how to play chess - surely he must be tired of you asking which piece is which every time you play.

Claws digging into the meat of your shoulders stake you within the world of this cruel reality. This isn't a dream. You can't wake up, even if you chewed your own tongue off and suffocated on the blood as every cell in your body screamed at you to do. It would save you the torment. Your mouth hangs open, ragged draws of air and the smooth, filed surface of your canines preventing you from carrying out the deed.

"A sheep? This thing?" The cackle he barks causes your knees to curl against your chest - body instinctively trying to make you as small as possible. What do you have to be do afraid of? If you weren't so spineless you could've done something by now. Everyone is going to die now, and they'll die hating you.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we grew up from the same pack!"

It won't be long now- the concern for their fellow neighbor bleeding away to further terror and confusion. Were you responsible for the recent disappearances? How long until you devoured everyone? Monster. Beast. Wolf.

The townspeople are in a frenzy. What should they do? If the wolf's claims are true.... No- That could be dealt with that. The most important thing was getting you away from him before he hurt you anymore. They're so many of them. It'd be easy, right? The thought crosses their minds, but no one dares to speak first. A rabbit grows annoyed of their hesitance. Whilst the town is bickering amongst themselves, you're laying there - cowering for your life as that wolf threatens to ruin it for you. It isn't fair. The knife in their basket was for cutting cakes for you to share...

"Liar....."

As the rabbit weaves through the crowd, another resident of the town returns home from her daily gatherings. Rocks weight the pockets of her dress - the shouts and panic from her fellow neighbors channeling miles throughout the forest. Scrambling to find the sharpest one, she throws it directly at the back of the wolf's head.

"You damned liar!"

The wolf staggers forward - a pitiful whine escaping you as his claws retract from your shoulder. Blood gushes from the back of his cranium, a sharp ringing in his ears bring him to his knees - landing center on the blade aimed at his stomach.

"About a week ago, Sheep and I found a robin's nest in my backyard.... They got all teary eyed when the last egg wouldn't hatch... Tell me.... Would a wolf do that?"

Rabbit plants their foot on the wolf's chest, twisting the handle of their knife as they rip it from his bowels. The wolf grabs into their ankle, using what little strength he has to shove them off of him. Mouse leaps onto him from behind, slamming another rock into the nape of his neck.

"Take it back! Take it back! Sheep isn't anything like you! How dare you accuse them! You monster!"

Stop....

Your voice is too quiet for any of them to hear. You doubt that'd stop them anyway. They'll kill him. He came here to do the same, but does that make it right? Strong arms lift you from the dirt floor - mindful of their antlers as they place your head to their shoulder. Mayor Moose always knew you best - hushing your sniffles as soon as they begin. Swan stands off to the side behind him, refusing to meet your eyes. He tucks the coat of his suit over the handgun strapped to his belt.

"I'm sorry..... I'm so sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" Swan still fails to look up at you. He knows if he does- there's the smallest chance he'll give into your pleads.

"Get some rest. You'll need it after the day you've had."

Carried away from the commotion, the defenses your fellow townspeople confess, the blood they spill so that your innocent is kept - the blood loss and sheer shock of it all lulls you into a dreamless slumber.

It's the best sleep you've gotten in months.

[sca-rian]

UPDATES ON RICHARLYSON AND THE BRAZILIANS, FROM CELLBIT'S STREAM (05/03)

i love how this stream started with silly shenanigans and then went to complex lore and back to shenanigans. also VERY long post warning since this is over 6 hours of content

banner art by @spot_desenhador

- they've started project imortalyson, each of them is gonna teach richarlyson important survival skills

- tazercraft is teaching him intimidation skills, forever is furthering teaching him how to rob things and stealth in general, cellbit is teaching combat (due to his past as a killer in minecraft 💀) and felps is teaching him movement and strategy

- tazercraft is building a little football/soccer field so they can play with richarlyson

- chayanne and richarlyson are now best friends :D

- cellbit and felps had their first fight. the reason: cellbit gave felps a banana and felps compared it to foolish's banana. this is an important update

- cellbit is doing richarlyson's daily missions!!!!

- richarlyson's favorite food is tapioca (this is important.)

- cellbit made him a totally edible tapioca

- after 2 hours of stream, they finally start on project imortalyson

- quackity is also giving 1% of training lessons

- ALMOST EVERYONE ON SERVER COMING TO WATCH AND HYPE IT UP?

- this entire sequence is. something. it includes valuable life lessons, bad translations of portuguese sayings ("lower your balls", "breast me" 💀), bobby and richarlyson exchanging insults, parkour, forever beating the bad father allegations

- things get TENSE with the richarlyson/bobby rivalry since bobby kept trying to steal the spotlight and be a nuisance

- as a final test, they followed richarlyson around in a cave until he found his first diamonds

- quackity is apparently trying to get a higher percentage of richarlyson's custody ? stay tuned for updates !

- update: rumor says he has 5% of custody now.... not sure if it's true. forever didn't confirm anything

- cellbit, felps and richarlyson quietly left the cave after quackity started threatening bobby

- RICHARLYSON CRAFTED HIS FIRST DIAMOND PICKAXE 🔥🔥🔥🔥

- they're doing a picnic :) with joyful music playing in the background :) and flowers :)

- richarlyson went to take a nap and cellbit started building his house in the meantime

- cellbit and richarlyson went to see bbh and maximus

- he's getting into the lore 👁 investigation music is playing. maximus is telling cellbit to be careful with quackity because quackity wants to kill all eggs

- cellbit is joining them on investigating what's going on with the island

- (guys cellbit is so excited about this. it's exactly his type of stuff since he used to do vídeos on args and stuff like that. he was also planning on doing something similar himself on the server)

- maximus is showing him the stuff with morse code/cyphers he got from the hacker transmissions and more. cellbit is gonna help them with the cypher

- meanwhile, richarlyson and dapper are getting along well!! :D they were having a little party with sombreros and mexican music

- if you're interested, around after the 4 hour mark, the stream is mostly in english and they talk about the lore and about decoding the cypher from one of the transmissions!!! very cool stuff

- 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 THEY PUT MINES ON VEGETTAS HOUSE AND WERE PUTTIMG THE BLAME ON CELLBIT??? I HATE IT HERE!!!! apparently maximus plan was to lead cellbit there so he could record him as evidence

- theyre changing it to blame bobby instead 💀

- richarlyson was playing the flute with tallulah :)

- forever keeps dying btw

- cellbit finished his house! hes also to planning a secret bunker under it to work on investigating the server and the transmissions

- quackity showed up and him and cellbit struggled with mines for several minutes. quackitys house is mostly gone.

- cellbit invited quackity to live in the favela with them

- AT THIS POINT IDK HOW MANY EXPLOSIONS WE HAD IN THE LAST 15 MINUTES

- cellbit put richarlyson to bed and played a undertale song while doing it :)

- uhhh apparently i left the stream and something lore relevant happened. cellbit got attacked by something that was definitely not a regular minecraft mob! hahah how funny. it was one of the things with binary code for a nick

i think this was most of the interesting/fun stuff that happened today. sorry for the long post and hopefully it helps some people who want to stay updated with the brazilians!! any extra information/details/translations you guys may want, feel free to send me an ask. or just come talk to me about these guys :)

[cleolinda]

My sister noticed

Previously on: I grew up in a haunted house and I didn't notice: So I told you a story about how a Count Chocula used to creep behind me at night when I was a child, and I described my very weird childhood home to you. I told you how my sister had Something Dark living in her bedroom, and I told you about the time she and I compared notes and realized that we also had the ghost of a young woman in the house. Maybe.

I asked my sister to read over the draft for me, maybe gather up the fortitude to fill in some details, and she texted back, "Oh, I'll tell you anything you want. But that’s not how it happened."

I am willing to believe her version for two reasons:

1) My memory has been shit after having covid umpteen thousand times.

2) I actually remember her version of the conversation we had, now that it's in front of me.

I also remember my version, is the thing—the one where I told her about Rebecca when we were younger. And that raises some questions about how independent, how uncompromised, our experiences were. But I think those questions are themselves the story. Can I trust my memory at all? I had such bad brain fog the first time I had covid that I could not remember how to scramble eggs. A lot of things are just mist to me now. There's what I remember and there's what actually happened, but what do I even remember? And that's before you even get into the idea that we're talking about ghosts we "felt" in the house. We saw no apparitions, no shadows, no odd movements.

This is not a story where I'm asking you to believe me.

There are things you experience, and things that happen. An example from the winter of 2016:

What I experienced was standing out on our deck one night and looking up at the stars. They were moving in a slight swirl motion, not unlike the painting Starry Night. I turned to my mom and said, "Well, the stars are moving, so if the world ends or something any time soon, here's our first sign." She stared at me.

What happened was, our upstairs heating unit had a leak, and I sustained mild carbon monoxide poisoning. (I like rooms to be cool, so I had used the heater less than most people would, at least.) This was only discovered during a routine furnace check, after my vision had been a little weird and I had been deeply fatigued for two or three months. I have had a CO monitor upstairs ever since.

Did I see the stars swirling? Yes. Were they? No. That's the distinction I want you to make while I tell you all this. Did my sister and I experience things? Yes. Do I know what happened? No.

So what I agree happened was, we were having Grownup Sunday Family Dinner a few years back, maybe 2019 or so. I had been really into Buzzfeed Unsolved, which later evolved into Watcher Entertainment, but my sister was refusing to watch any of it. She's a big fan now, but she only started watching the guys last year. Yesterday, we tried to piece this back together via text.

My sister ["MS" from here on out]: Like I feel like off and on for years you mentioned [Shane and Ryan's shows] and I refused

MS: And one day my argument was to talk about our own house

Me [let's go with Cleolinda Jones, "CJ"]: You said you felt like fake ghost shows were disrespectful to people who actually experienced [hauntings].

MS: YES I FEEL LIKE THAT WAS THE CONVO

I love paranormal investigation shows, whether they're patently fake or not, as long as I enjoy the people investigating, so I couldn't understand why they personally offended her. Pulling at this thread back in 2019 is how the the whole ghost story started coming out.

CJ: And I was like, okay, but here’s one show where they get, like, nothing, but I can promise you that it's real

(Because the Unsolved/Watcher shows pair a believer with an actual skeptic who still, lo these many years later, does not believe in any of it. I truly believe Shane and Ryan would not stage "evidence," for that reason. Shane makes fun of ghosts and people who believe in them, but he's honest about it, and my sister likes that.)

At this point, we go back to the first version of the story that I posted: my sister had told me that Something had lived in the Four Closets Bedroom with her when she was a preteen/early teenager. It felt very dark, very bad, and she had not told anyone else about it until that dinner. The way I relayed it to you, Dear Reader, was that she hadn't wanted to go into detail, and I wasn't sure what it looked like, or if it "lived" in the little witch closet, or what. That night at dinner, I had gone on to tell her that, you know, now that you mention it, I did feel like something used to follow me up there at night. And this was when "My sister started crying. Like just staring at me in wide-eyed horror, her eyes filling with tears" had come in.

1. Something Dark

CJ: So you were telling me about our house being haunted. Something in your room. How would you describe it?

MS: I think it more lived in the attic

(our pal the dark fucked-up attic room)

MS: but would roam the entire floor so I felt it in the peach room [my (Cleo's) old bedroom and then later, my sister's] but more so in [the Four Closets Bedroom] as it was closer to the attic

MS: The best way I can describe it is just never feeling like I was alone. Feeling like something was always behind me. But I refused to turn around to look. It felt like a darkness that almost oozed behind you in a way that was almost suffocating.

CJ: What I find interesting is that we both describe it as Just Feelings, and never feeling alone.

My sister texted me at this point that she used to sense Something upstairs whether it was day or night; "even in the day, it didn't feel safe." But night was worse.

MS: There was one night in 3rd grade when I was reading and had like my first panic attack because I was newer to living upstairs and I felt it come in the room at night for the first time

MS: I also used to feel compelled to keep the AC running all night like it was never cold enough.

Here's the weird thing: when we moved to the house where I currently live and our rooms were on the same floor, we always fought over the thermostat. My sister hated her bedroom being too cool, whereas I get hot. I remember one night, we were arguing over it, and she was weirdly on the verge of tears: "Why do you have to have it so cold?" In 2023, my sister texted me at this point that she didn't want our childhood home to be cold; it was like the thing wanted that temperature, even if she hated it.

You often hear that ghosts make rooms cold, that's a big ghost hunter show thing—but whatever was up there couldn't lower the temperature on its own?

CJ: "If you can’t make it cold yourself, storebought is fine"

CJ: And you don’t have a visual impression of it, I’m not just blowing past that?

MS: I refused. REFUSED to look. Ever. For any reason.

CJ: I did too, so that’s interesting

CJ: I describe it as a Count Chocula, which should tell you how much it didn’t bother me. Which I find weird

(Truly, there is a reason I titled that post "I grew up in a haunted house and I didn't notice.")

MS: I can’t tell if it was truly terrifying. Or if the amount of data I was getting from it was just so overwhelming that that alone was terrifying to a child. I wish I could answer that now.

CJ: Yeah, in some way I think we’re saying the same thing. I was seven years old and I couldn’t comprehend what it was, either, so I just imagined a silly vampire

CJ: like I can’t overstate how cartoonish it seemed to me at the time, while still being very DON’T LOOK BACK

Part of the problem, she added, was that she felt compelled to go turn down the air conditioning... and the thermostat was next to the (carpeted. shag carpeted) bathroom. And then she had to race back to her bedroom... the same way I used to, as quick as she could.

MS: I also felt like I could NOT run. Like the way you shouldn’t run away from a mountain lion. It would create the need for it to chase me.

MS: What is so strange is that [learning about paranormal investigation] has not changed my perception of my experience in the slightest. Whether that’s the reality or not. It is still something I find dark and terrifying.

CJ: I think you would answer this differently now than you did then: what do you think it was?

We discussed this by text for a while. I mentioned being intrigued that Something Dark wanted to be cold (but apparently was not able to make the room cold). My sister—having agreed to be quoted here—said, "I kinda hope to avoid someone being like 'you had a demon in your house,'" as she doesn't really feel like that's what it was. Her gut feeling (and, bear in mind, we are working off nothing but feelings here) is that it was a spirit or ghost: something formerly human. We agree that it seemed male in some way (again: a Chocula).

And you're probably thinking, This is total bullshit. And it probably is! I'm not claiming any of this to be real evidence! I just find it interesting that we somehow came up with the same bullshit.

CJ: It just fascinates me that I did not experience 90% of this, and yet I got a strong enough whiff of it that I’m like, yeah, I can see it

But what about the female presence, the one I went off to color with in the middle of the night?

2. Rebecca

MS: I didn’t find out you had done the ouija board until we were adults. You didn’t tell me when we were kids

MS: That’s why I was SO shocked when we talked at the dinner table.

See, I was convinced that I had told her about my ouija adventures when I was a teenager, and "What about Rebecca??" flowed really well in the first post. That conversation was already a bit fictionalized in order to condense it from what I remembered—that's how memoirs work, really, unless you have actual transcripts of your life and room to include them. You're telling a story. I thought I was telling a condensed version of a true story. And yet, I do remember how shocked my sister was at dinner that night. And she would have only been seven or eight when I was messing around with that shit. Those two things do support the idea that I wouldn't have told her.

MS: You did tell me skeletons lived in my closet tho

I told you I was kind of a shit.

CJ: when I told you about Rebecca, what was your reaction?

MS: That’s when I went white. Bc I realized we had had a similar experience and I wasn’t just crazy

CJ: The thing is, I WOULD HAVE SWORN I had told you about Rebecca when we were younger

MS: If you did you didn’t name her and that’s why it was nuts when I realized 2 decades later we pulled the same name and we both remembered it.

We did it again, too—I posted briefly about putting this whole saga together, and how my sister asked me to give the ghost a pseudonym (ghosts deserve privacy too). And in trying to think of a good replacement, we both came up with "Rebecca."

CJ: so how did you know the [original] name?

MS: Ouija board with [best friend, redacted] in the playroom when I was like 13. She cried the whole time. We both thought the other was moving [the planchette].

You'll remember the weird, windowless, sky-blue playroom with the scary door from the previous post.

MS: But she was crying so she wouldn’t have been. And I would have never pulled out the name [Not Actually Rebecca]

MS: There was part of me that wonders if I did it but I would have NEVER chosen Rebecca

CJ: So did I bring Rebecca up first in this conversation [at dinner in 2019], or did you? I did?

MS: You said it first. I would have never [told you first] cuz I would have thought you were placating me. Like I’d never really know if you weren’t just agreeing with me

And that's when my sister had "stared at me, saucer-eyed, pale. Like I'm not sure I had ever seen anyone 'go white' until that moment." And I had told her about getting up at midnight and going to color in the weird playroom, and someone else being in there with me, no big deal.

After all this discussion, we do think that Rebecca was briefly my "imaginary friend," but our mom told me to stop talking about that. Not because our mom was spooked, but because she felt like it was rude for me to talk about someone I was presumably making up in front of company. So that stopped. Thinking back on it, I just felt like someone was sitting next to me on the couch. I didn't feel anyone next to me; when I looked, I felt like I could see where... someone was not? The space that someone invisible was taking up? It felt like something reasonably friendly. "Chill" is the word I keep using. Not super eager or possessive, just like a girl who was a bit older, maybe a teenager, a babysitter age, who liked me well enough. There was some dark shit in the attic, apparently—it did feel very oppressive in there—but I would get a sense that a metaphorical desk lamp had been turned on. A presence that stayed back, relaxed, but emanated "hey, I'm here."

What my sister and I agreed on was that we remembered how these "feelings" were both vague and memorable. I can't remember events or chronology accurately, but I remember the actual sensations and presences very, very clearly. They resist reinterpretation. I can't sit here and say, "Oh, Rebecca was totally a guardian angel, I see that now." The Something Dark sounds functionally demonic, but my sister doesn't feel like that's accurate. (If anything, she gets a sense that this could have been a malicious uncle—not father—of some kind to Rebecca, if the two beings were related: particular in their vagueness.) These two presences just... were. My sister says she primarily sensed Rebecca outdoors in our backyard, when we were pretending (were we?) to play with fairies. I didn't sense Rebecca there—but then, I wasn't aware that what I sensed was a someone, not for another thirty years or so. My oblivious ass was up at midnight filling in my She-Ra coloring book with a ghost like, "Yeah, I'm alone in the dark for no reason, this is normal." It's only in retrospect that I recognize atmospheric feelings as things that actually took up space, and I don't know how I didn't see it at the time. I can't explain that, and I can't ask you to believe it. All I know is that my sister still feels very traumatized by her experience of it—and I can't explain why I don't.

I think one of the reasons paranormal investigation shows don't scare me a whole lot is because so much of the "evidence" is random knocks and creaks and movements and vibes, and I'm like, yeah, I've lived in two houses now like that. The door of my current bedroom opens and closes on its own all the time. It's probably a draft from the ventilation system (which does not have CO leaks anymore) (probably). I've seen something at this house that a lot of people might call a shadow person, but I was probably imagining it. So many of these ghost shows just have things that I grew up with and didn't even think a whole lot of at the time; I seem to be protected by a +3 Sphere of Sure, That's Fine. Is my current house also haunted? I honestly don't know. Would I notice if it was?

[marshmallowprotection]

What are your thoughts on the new Cg? Butler Saeran? I’m not use to the him nor Jumin and Zen with glasses. But they look good

Normally, I would do a lengthy analysis post about the image, but there isn’t much here for me to analyze! I do want to write something for the anniversary that I will try to get out before the end of the month, but it's not going to be tacked onto an image analysis since there isn't much for me to say here other than point out a few Easter eggs. 

I got what I wanted. Jaehee in a tuxedo. This is what I manifested at the start of the month and I am grateful that we not only got her in a maid outfit, we got her in a butler outfit, too. Jaehee stans, you have won and she is front and center! This is her moment and she is killing it. I feel the need to stare at her for a little while because it's cute and there's no way I'm going to let this moment pass me by without really appreciating Jaehee aesthetically.

I'll be honest, I don't know why the recent trend has been to make our boy Yoosung super clumsy. He's never really been a clumsy guy and I don't know where someone got the idea that Yoosung isn't on top of what he's doing. I will agree in saying he's probably the easiest person to bully in the entire universe because he's sweet and gullible, but he isn't clumsy, and yet, every image we've gotten of him this year other than his birthday image has had him busting his ass on the ground in one way or another.

Does ANYONE know why they're bullying Yoosung this bad? I mean, he's really cute here and I appreciate that he's trying his best to really impress the MC, but c'mon, give him a break.

I did not realize how badly I needed Jumin in glasses. Jumin's already a very handsome person but somehow adding glasses really elevates it here for some reason. I don't know how his vibe has enhanced for me but it has. I wear glasses myself and I always have, so it's nice to see the characters in glasses in official artwork because I'm always super curious to see how they would look. It's working for Jumin, that I can tell you.

I like that his hair isn't as neat and tidy as it usually is, too.

I fear they have slayed. Saeyoung and Zen are dazzling in their own right and I can't remember the last time they were drawn side by side but I think it's been a little while.

I've already noticed many people have pointed out that Saeyoung is wearing a ring. It's a little bit silly that he's wearing it over his glove, but I have to admit that is something he would do if this were his timeline. He is proud of the fact that he gets to live in this world, and he's even happier to know that he has somebody by his side who understands him more than anyone else. He's definitely that guy who doesn't stop talking about his partner because he's so in love. 

Zen with roses is something I've come to expect because he's also a traditional romantic. Red roses are the best way to captivate someone with your love and it’s no surprise that he follows that path. It might seem a little cliche but who is he if not somebody who loves romantic cliches? He is that guy who would watch romcoms with you all day long regardless of your relationship status with him, he just gets it.

I don't know how I feel about him wearing glasses since he doesn't seem like a glasses guy, but maybe if I saw him in sunglasses I might be able to rationalize this better. He's wearing a stylized pair here and I think it's the gold that's throwing me off. If it was silver, I don't think I would feel as perplexed by how I feel because silver fits him better as that's typically what he chooses for himself.  

Controversial thing to say every time I say it, but I have to tell you guys that Jihyun is still my third favorite character in the game, and I really don’t mind when Saeran and V are drawn together. I recognize that they do this because those two are tied together as the leads of Another Story, just as the core five, meaning Yoosung, Zen, Jaehee, Jumin, and Seven are drawn together.

But, to me, seeing Jihyun with everyone makes me feel like there is a timeline where V did the right thing for everyone and asked for help at the first sign of trouble instead of continually shooting himself in the foot. A lot of the art that's drawn with V included is self-indulgent and can only exist as true fanservice because it would never be true in most routes of the game. 

Normally, I would expect him to look exasperated in art like this but he seems to be fairly confident which is a good change for Jihyun. I’ll take it! 

I have no idea what they're doing here, did they choreograph a song and dance? They aren't the most coordinated members of the group so that makes me want to laugh. It's sweet, but I have a huge feeling they're going to trip over each other if not on their own feet. Saeran is as cute as always, I could talk about him for hours.

Seeing him as a butler always takes me back to when Ray said he would be happy to be your butler in a huge mansion. That was utterly indicative of the fact he was willing to become subservient to you if it meant you would stick around. That’s what the first bad ending is all about. Unfortunately, he thought so poorly of himself that he would be willing to make himself nothing more than something for you to push around if that's what you wanted. 

At least, in this context, he's doing it because he wants to make you happy, sure, but it's not something he's doing to make sure you stick around, he knows you'll still be there no matter what because he doesn't have to work himself to the bone to prove he's worthy of your companionship. 

I don't know if anybody picked this up but the painting is in homage to the anniversary image from two years ago. Rika was in the painting that time, and this time around, it's MC.

I do think it's worth noting that they are playing with light and dark imagery which is to be expected in a game that takes a lot of cues for religious imagery. Rika and MC are always bathed in white and black, light and dark, true contrast.

They're both wearing a dress that goes off of the shoulders, the only difference being the color and the style. MC has a more sleek pattern and Rika is bathed in ruffles. Rika’s seems to be more constrained and MC’s a little more loose around the edges. MC is free to make choices one way or the other by pushing outward, and Rika makes choices that go against her best interest as she pulls inward. I think another CG that plays on this is the BE from V Route.

Love her or hate her, there are important parallels at play here. 

In conclusion, Rika has always been like this in official art and I don't know what to tell you.

[imperatorcaesaraugustus]

and now we are come to this, for the last time in a long time. ThoughtD: thoughts on HotD. this was season 2 episode 8, the season finale. let us begin

i'm enjoying seeing Tyland Lanister having a terrible time in the free cities

oh my god it's Abigail Thorn

"Aegon, the Realm's Delight" pick any other name, man. that one is taken

finally someone remembered that Dreamfyre exists

it's really nice that he named his ship "the queen that never was"

Broom (or is it Brune?) you piece of shit, this is the exact opposite of your job

between Larys/Aegon and Alicent/Helaena, not a single person wants to be here

there's a very petty part of me that takes great satisfaction in the fact that one of Aemond's few redeeming qualities - the fact that he treats Helaena better than Aegon does - is taken away from him this episode

Gwayne should have fucking killed that man

i did not anticipate the mud wrestling

Baella please get through to this man he is clearly having a bad time and he's taking it out on others

so is anyone, like, looking for Rhaena? she just ran off to spend several days in the fucking wilderness

Tyland up there singing

"I wish to have children by you" i gotta admit, i had to pause the episode for a few minutes while i reeled from hearing that line

man, Ulf is really settling into his new position quite rapidly

it's rude, but i have to admit "a knight should comport himself with more dignity" "best make me a knight then" is a hell of a comeback

was that a Green Man standing by the weirwood?!

the three-eyed Daemon

i love that Daemon goes into the weirwood and Helaena is just already in there

geez, Helaena, give us a fucking spoiler warning next time

i like how Rhaenyra lands on the causeway leading up to Harrenhal in a similar way to her landing on the causeway at Dragonstone to confront Daemon season 1

Alyn telling off Corlys for the way he had to grow up is spectacular

what in the goddamn hell is Alicent doing here? this is the nun thing all over again!

interesting that they decided to make the taking of King's Landing Alicent's doing

"choose" jesus, Rhaenyra. that's fucking brutal

i like how, at the very end of this scene, the freedom vs duty dynamic that Rhaenyra and Alicent have is reversed

TESSARION!

i love that the Rains of Castamere plays every time we see the Lannister army

why is Otto in a cage? what is happening to Otto? as someone who read Fire and Blood, even i have no idea

after all that buildup to both the battle for the gullet and the taking of King's Landing, that's how they're ending the season? right there?

i've generally really enjoyed this season. it definitely had its flaws (this episode being no exception), but i've had a good time. i wish we'd gotten a bit more, hate to end it right there, but i'm really looking forward to season 3 (and also to Dunk and Egg which i believe is coming next year)

[vixendoesstuff]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

ALRIGHT, SO-

Final part of this convoluted saga I came up with at like, 3 am one day. Last time we were left on a cliffhanger (because I'm evil like that) but now y'all (the maybe 4 people who's paying attention to this AU) get to see what happens next.

Let's just get right into it!

So, the quartet (Poppy, Cooper, Branch and Hickory), after hearing who had beamed them up into the giant UFO, was equally shocked and overjoyed, mostly on Poppy and Cooper's part. Immediately Cooper got up and started asking questions, like how is this possible, how Prince D. looked just like him, and if he's his twin, that means he's also royalty, and such things. It was here when King Quincy and Queen Essence entered the fray, which just excites Cooper further.

The two parents are obviously overjoyed at finally seeing their long lost son. They were kinda miffed at Prince D. for using the bubble without their supervision, but seeing who he had beamed, they let it slide for now.

The same stuff then happened as it is in the movie, with some dialouge changes, like Cooper telling the Funk Family how he got with the Pop Trolls as an egg. They noticed Branch in the group, and was pleasently surprised how a Techno Troll is with the Pop Trolls, since they're an isolated bunch. Branch said that he doesn't really know what made his egg be with the Pop Trolls, just that his adoptive family found him one day and took him in. The Funk Family then tells him the brief history of the Techno Trolls since they can kinda tell he's clueless and they felt bad. Then the history of the Strings came along.

Same thing there, explaining how every tribe once lived in harmony until Pop got greedy and stole all the strings, so everybody else took back their strings and ran, living in isolation from eachother ever since.

Cooper and Branch is clearly disturbed. Maybe because of their respective tribe of origin before they settled in Pop Village they feel more unsettled by the news, but they felt horrified by the implication nonetheless. Poppy even more so, desperate to prove that the Pop Trolls are not like that anymore, look at Cooper and Branch! They're fine! (Enter worried side eyes from the two). Then everything goes as it is in the movie, the Funk Family softly rejecting her offer to combine their music together, and Rock invading and everyone preparing for battle, with Cooper deciding to stay behind to help his family by bubbling everyone to safety back to the ground below.

The same argument Branch and Poppy has happens, with a little change in the dialouge. It's something along the lines of Poppy not listening to others when they offer advice that might work in her favour, and instead goes off to do her own thing; about how she doesn't listen when her way does more harm than good; about how, in a way, she's doing the same thing Barb is doing. The two split off, with Branch having the intention of going back to Pop Village to warn the others. It may not be his tribe of origin, but it is his home for all his life, and he'd protect it in whatever way he can.

We cut to Poppy sulking to herself before being spotted by Hickory, who manages to find her. Same dialouge happens, with Poppy revealing the string to him, Dickory splitting from Hickory's... behind and revealing their true identities as Bounty Hunters, and squabbling with her for possession of the string. In here, perhaps due to talking with Cooper and Branch, who are different genre Trolls but holds love for Pop, empowered his hidden desire to see harmony between different genres and tribes, and decided to fight back against his partner (brother? Brother). Of course, this doesn't go unpunished by Barb, who suddenly appears with her lackeys and apprehended both Poppy and Hickory, saying that this is what they deserve for trying to delay her plans (she lets Dickory go, but not without a warning to control his brother). Poppy claimed she'll stop her, but Barb revealed that she has invaded Pop Village and destroyed most things there, so all Poppy can do is sit tight and watch the show.

Turning back to Branch, when he finished his 2014's sad boy song, he then got ambushed by the K-Pop gang and the Reggaeton Trolls, who demands the location of Queen Poppy. Obviously he refuses 'cause while he still has beef with her, she's the most important person in his life, so you bet he'll try to protect her at all costs. The dance off still commences the same way (you have to admit, dancing with fins for legs is hella impressive), with thw two groups complimenting eachother on their dances before interrogating Branch again.

The convo here is changed slightly because I wanna see Branch and the two Bounty Hunter groups to interact some more 'cause their dynamic is interesting. Basically it's the lines of,

"Why does Barb decides which music is safe to listen to? All music is worth listening to. Liking different genres doesn't matter."

"Ugh, what do you know, Techno Troll? You don't know how it feels to be regarded as lesser for liking a different music."

"[Pop Troll profanity], I'm literally a living example of that, who do you think I've been living with all my life? And besides, who's to say Barb won't turn tail on her side of the deal and destroy you, too?"

With the power of persuasion, he managed to stop the two groups from continuing their plans and starts a temporary truce between them. His first initial plan was to get back to Pop Village to confirm everyone's safety and maybe stop Barb from destroying it. But Chaz (the guy that made him trip balls) suddenly appeared and steps in their conversation to say that Barb has gained all the strings and is making her way to Volcano Rock City, home of the Rock Trolls. This completely changes the course of his plan, but Branch is determined to follow through.

So he, the K-Pop gang, the Reggaeton Trolls and Chaz (who only came along for the thrill of it) all decide to work together to stop Barb from achieving whatever it is she's planned to use the strings for. They found the sentient hot air balloon Branch had ridden before chillin' in the outskirts of Lonesome Flats, and hopped in to make an impromptu trip to Volcano Rock City.

The scene with Poppy and Barb chatting is the same because other than it being a first face to face convo with the two, it changes nothing in the long run.

We go to the scene where Barb does a wardrobe change and presents the other tribe leaders to put her Power Chord thing to the test, to make everyone Skillet enjoyers. But before she could fire at Poppy (who she chose as the first target), a book came flying at her face. She looked up, only to see a Techno Troll along with the rest of the Bounty Hunters she hired coming in flying from a hot air balloon. (He also said the same catchphrase, "I guess a comprehensive manual does come in handy!") This shocked her since she made sure every Techno Troll was accounted for when she first invaded Techno Reef. So what the heck is this guy doing here?!

The other leaders was surprised and concerned by his arrival, but none of them rivaled the feeling of shock and horror coming from Poppy, and Trollex respectively.

Before they could think any further, and before Barb can even do anything, Branch suddenly leaps from the balloon straight down to where Barb is. And, in the most simplest term I can use, he Falcon Punched her. In the face. The guy's not afraid to play dirty.

Soon enough the two of them got into a nasty brawl, with both giving everything they got to beat the other. One is trying to take the guitar away, and one is trying to keep the guitar from the other. Million pairs of eyes is watching them play it out on stage.

While everyone else was shocked and frozen in place, Poppy began working to get her cage door open while she's distraced. Just as she's about halfway through that the victor of the scuffle is decided. While most of the Rock Trolls on the front seat were too stunned to protect their Queen, a few managed to step in and hold Branch in place. Barb waste no time using the Power Chord on him, to Poppy and the leaders' horror.

When the stone cracked and revealed Branch as a rock zombie, new colours, clothing and all, something in Trollex snapped.

It seems there's a pattern with Techno Trolls being violent when pushed to the brink, as when Barb had finished transforming Quincy and Essence and moved to him and Trollzart, no joke, he flew from his platform, and speeds straight onto Barb to give her a good beatdown like his subject the other Techno Troll did. It sorta worked, since Barb soon fell from her cable straight to the crowd below (man Trollex packs a punch). Before the Rock Trolls in the crowd could get any ideas, Trollex took the guitar from her hands and threw it back on stage, where it's out of her reach for now. He would've followed suit, if Barb hadn't got a good grip on Trollex's fins and dragged him down to her.

But it seems that Trollex's little distraction worked against her favour, as Poppy managed to get out of her cage amidst the scuffle and dashes straight to the guitar, but not before being blocked by rock zombie Branch (I got a design in mind for him, just wait and see winky face). She's horrified at seeing her best friend boyfriend being like this, but she's determined to make things right, to make sure Barb doesn't fall to the wrong path any further and hurt many more innocent Trolls. She does her speech on how everything being the same is hella boring (character development!) and how she can't force someone to be the same as her because differences do matter.

Then she proceeds to smash the guitar to bits, and the strings followed suit.

Suddenly the entire city turned grey, with no colours in sight. The zombified Trolls (ie Branch, Quincy, Essence and Trollzart, who Barb managed to hit when Trollex one punched her) were turned back to normal. But that's not really important when everyone's turned Grey with the loss of the strings.

But the same scene in the movie happened here also, with them singing by themselves bringing their colours and music back. Nothing much changed in that regard.

Branch and Poppy reunited with a hug and Poppy then went full on her apologies, saying that she's sorry for being dismissive on his suggestions and that she should've listened to him more, that her desire to be a good Queen overshadowed what she actually needed to be one; patience and a willingness to listen. Before she could go overboard, Branch stopped her. And then said on how he's also sorry for how angry he got at her, and that he knew she has only done the things she did out of a genuine desire to do good. They finished with another hug, and the infamous dialouge,

"Branch... I love being different."

"And I love you, Queen Poppy."

[Cue the Snack Pack handing eachother money in the background].

After they did that high-five that makes glitter appear out of nowhere, the two are then approached by the Troll of the hour; King Trollex. For the first time in his life, Branch gets to see the tribe he originated from, the tribe he was born to. And Trollex gets to see the Techno Troll born from the egg that was lost to him all those years ago, grew up into a strong and independent soul.

The atmosphere was tense, with no one speaking a word for a while. Branch and Trollex continued to stare at eachother, taking the other in full detail. Poppy was starting to get nervous and decides to cut in, but not before Trollex pulled Branch into a tight hug, fins and all. Branch is justifiably freaked out and froze, but he then heard the words spoken from the Techno Troll monarch,

"I know I mean nothing to you. That you value and love Pop more than Techno, for they are your entire world. And I get it. I respect it. I'd offer you to come home with me, but I know that's useless. But, if you're willing, I'd like for us to get to know eachother, regardless of differences. I failed you then, but please, let me make up for it now. I want to know your trials, your tribulations. Your achievements. Perhaps not as king and subject, but... as friends."

Branch, despite freaking out about the close contact with his king this stranger he just met 30 seconds ago, felt oddly... relieved. And lighter than he was for a long time. Make no mistake, for all that Trollex is supposed to be to him, he's a stranger in his eyes. A person he'll instinctively distance at first. But then again,

What is a stranger if not a person to befriend?

WOO! WE DID IT! WE MANAGED TO REACH THE END, LET'S GO!!

Man, the amount of rewriting I did to make this as coherent as possible is staggering. But I'm glad I persevered, since now the World Tour saga of this AU is finally finished! While yeah, Branch doesn't get to hang around his tribe as much here, but that's what Trollstopia will be about! Oh boy, can't wait to get to that.

But in all cases, thank you for the maybe 6 people now that's been following me through with this, I hope you enjoy what I have to offer. Do not be fooled, for I have much, much more to offer for this AU. Until then, take care!

Band Together awaits :)

[hyperfixation-symposium]

Yaknow, I don't think Bad will be able to escape the island today, but imagine if he did

Has Bad told anyone that he's genuinely going? Has he mentioned to anyone that this attempt is a serious one?

He follows the train tracks, there's something there, a way out for him and his son. He can escape, and he takes Dapper and they go. They're free, of the island and the federation and the code. They can relax.

But there's no way back, no way to send messages to his friends on the island, no way to tell them it worked. Perhaps the Federation is hunting him, trying to see where he went, pull him and Dapper back to the island. Bad has to lay low, keep his wits about him, all while returning to 'normal' life with his egg son.

Then, to the other residents, one of their most trusted, strong, vital friends is gone. There's no goodbye, no indication that he's left, he just stops answering. No one can find them anywhere, nothing major is left of the duo aside from the things they made. Foolish even finds his way out to the building they were going to make their new home, sure he's just hiding there. He isn't.

Cellbit would probably have the worst reaction. He's known Bad for a long time, they're buddies, they're veterans, they were fighting the federation together. Now he's just gone?? Cell is convinced the federation took him, and nothing will stop him for fighting for Bad like he does for Felps.

Forever just can't comprehend it. Bad was just here, everything was normal and find last night. The one person he trusted the most outside of the Brazilians, the person he thought would be there for him whenever, suddenly gone. He understands Cellbit a lot more, just how crazy he was going. Forever wants Bad back, and nothing will stop him from doing so.

For much of the server there's just this aching feeling that something is lost. People keep sending out large group messages asking Bad for something or to come places and remembering he is gone. Foolish insists at first that he's glad the gremlin is gone before being seen putting up missing posters with Cellbit. The absolute care he poured into helping the eggs is a slack the others feel starting to catch them - Bad had so much set up for the eggs, he was so protective and helpful, and now it's a burden so many others are carrying.

The island is thrown into more distrust, fighting, and problems while Bad actively does everything he can to try and find a way to help his friends to get out all without being able to talk to them or see the effect that his leaving had.

But as long as he stays out of the eyes of the Federation, he can save them right? And nothing will ever hurt Dapper again.

Anyways at this point I'm writing AU material, hope you all enjoyed owdheMAHSJZ-

[tomorrowsgardennc]

today, let's talk about

✨️ aphids ✨️

specifically, when you have a basic greenhouse enclosure (aka not a commercial-built high tunnel with all the accessories).

aphids will be a problem. guaranteed. this is due to lack of airflow (like, legit airflow from wind or a very robust intake/exhaust system). i have a fan or few for my greenhouse tunnel contraption, but it's more for to help prevent stagnant air and keep the temperature uniform. i'm not at aphid-prevention level of airflow yet. and that's ok, because over the past few years i have learned the signs and what to do about them and today i am sharing with you.

✨️ step 1: finding ✨️

there is one tell tale sign that indicate you are in the presence of aphids. just like other pests, the sign you'll see is poop. for aphids, this looks almost like white and clear glitter on leaves. on the soil, it will look more like white glitter. the leaves will also be very sticky. sticky, glitter poop.

✨️ step 2: locating ✨️

ok, we found the pest poop. now to find the pests.

aphids nom on two parts of the plant: the newest growth, and under the leaves. as you see here, the very tip of this pepper plant has some babies. now when we get to the next stage, keep in mind that since the aphids are here, you already lost the game. there's no hope in this new growth unless you do the following and final step.

✨️ step 3: elimination ✨️

no no, put that neem oil down. neem oil kills any and all bugs. it does not detect which is good and which is bad. no no, dish soap and water legit does nothing except wash the poop away; ignore what pinterest and the influencers say about that combo. ok, army of ladybugs bought at the local hardware store is good, but we gotta do one more thing before we unleash them. and that's 𝓼𝓺𝓾𝓲𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰.

legit, the only way to remove an aphid infestation, regardless of what stage of infestation ("beginning", "haha, i'm in danger", or "HELP I'M DROWING IN GLITTER POOP") the most effective way to have any hope of saving the plants is to squish the aphids. this will not happen all in one day, nor two days, or three. day three is when you unleash the ladybug army, though, and i'll explain why in a second.

day one you'll be in shook and overwhelemed, and squish to your hearts content. but you will not get every single one nor any eggs. day two will show progress. day three is now manageable, and all the subsequent days afterwards will be to ensure you got every. single. last. one. including the eggs that hatch.

✨️ final step: release the hoard ✨️

sadly i can't find my video of releasing ladybug hoards in the greenhouse in years past... so i'll just scatter ladybugs 🐞 as i type this 🐞 part out to help with the ambiance.

ladybugs and other happy 🐞 bugs love to eat aphids. why not 🐞 have them do all the work?

well, think of your favorite cake. like legit the most perfect cake you could ever imagine. mine is yellow cake with chocolate mousse frosting and sliced fresh bananas. mmmm...

now imagine 20 of those, 🐞 and they're capable of reproduction. don't ask how, but they do. at a rate of 10 cakes every 🐞 other day.

🐞 how long will it take for you to be able to eat all those cakes before they can stop reproducing??

also, keep in mind when you purchase a pack of live ladybugs, only about 2/3rds actually are alive in the packet 🐞 by the time they make it to freedom and the remaining will either die very shortly from the last bit of energy to be free and fly away or just fly away and enjoy being elsewhere because they're an 🐞 introvert who was just stuck in a bag for a month or so 🐞🐞🐞🐞 and fuck everyone and everything they just want to leave regardless of the buffet at their feet.

that will leave you with approximately 10 ladybugs. and now that 🐞 you have done all that squishing, they will keep the aphids in check and make sure they don't pop up ever again. now your plants will attempt to regrow and leaves or new growth they lost and be happy.

✨️ the end 🐞✨️

[alliumdykes]

Omg hi ur so sexy and awesome hahaha talk about the game How Fish Is Made hahaha

Omg wow hi person who totally isn't me I'm going to talk about How Fish Is Made and its semi-sequel/next chapter The Last One Then Another.

Spoilers under the cut, this is very long.

Ok so I just LOVE this game sm. Like I am luring you in with haha funny joke for my long-ass essay rant explination thingy.

But I love this game. The feeling of being in the machine. It's both organic and mechanical. It makes the machine feel biological and man-made at the same time. But also neither. It feels wrong. All the fish you meet NEED to know if you choose up or down. It's the most important choice you make. You MUST choose up or down. It leads into a debate about if you should choose up or down, fishes telling you to choose up while another yells at you to choose down because their so smart they were stuck.

You find a fish whos in fear, they can't choose up or down? Do they go up with their best friend? Or down with the rest of their family? They need you to choose for them. You fall down flesh tunnels, fish seeing frozen fish and calling it art. Its so disgustingly human in some way. At one point you need to open a gate, but a fish is stuck in the gears, thinking there was a way to beat choosing up or down. And technically they did. But not through escape. but from being killed by you, you have to kill someone to progress. And you have no choice.

You enter a room full of water, but you can't swim. you can never swim. you must flop.You meet a fish whos tongue had been devoured by Cymothoa exigua, who sings you a cheerful song about how you just have to live with the bullshit that you are put through. After you are put through the song full of parasites there you must continue on your journey. You enter a room full of fish eggs everywhere and you are forced to stop. you get a dialogue text saying "Why do you deserve it? Will you be able to live with it? Try and try and try and try and try again. Ah, those double action hinges have always been there, just for you, right? You'll come back. Everyone does. Weak. Or you'll go looking. one way or another, right? Weak." Before your forced to keep walking, thinking about what you were told. I like to think its some meta-commentary thing, about how we will go look for another ending of the game, if you do something different you will get another, better ending.

This can also be interpreted as how in life if we make a choice, we could choose one. but in the end we will always want to see what happens if we choose something else. Maybe if I did this instead it'll of end out better? Maybe if I do this in this way instead of that it will be better! but it doesn't matter.

You enter a room, with lights and a fish in the middle. They say this is about conviction. But also. They're just a fish in a room with intimidating lighting, they acknowledge this. How do we know that they know it? They just look smart.

When you finally make the choice a fish whos seen the amount whos gone up and down. You ask the fish to go up or down, they say that whatever one they go through that they will tell you what they see. but you don't.

You go through. You get a message that I transcribed here. I like to think that the monologue is about the selfishness that comes with grief. That you feel that you've had it the worse, what you have gone through is worse then what everyone else has gone through. no one else has gone through the same suffering that you have gone through. but its not true. its rude and selfish.

You can get two endings, a large blob when you go up and you become apart of a sandwich if you go down. I think this is meant to be that no matter what you choose, their as bad as each other. But you have a choice, the only good thing is that you have a choice.

Ok now onto The Last One Then Another.

This takes place after the first, and your in a large blob no matter if you choose up or down. You free the blob and start to (quite literally) consume bits of dead fish around you, gaining enough to burst through a shut door. a fish asks to come with you. you can say yes and consume the fish, or you can just leave. this is the only time you can do this, the only time you don't have to consume.

You go to a boat or bathtub (I'm unsure) and you follow the light to a bloody bandaged head where you can only see an eye and the mouth of the man. You can rather leave or consume. You aren't large enough to consume though. so you must leave. You go through this fleshy tunnel where there's a fish feasting on a birthday cake. You have the option to leave or consume. Although but you have to consume to progress. You go back to the main area where a whole is opened in the middle. You go down to see just the eye of the bandaged man after consuming a small fish.

The man tells you a joke that goes like this "Three men are in the hospital. The first man cries 'I lost both my hands, they told me I'll never work again!' The second man wails 'I lost both my legs, they told me I'll never work again! The third man? He rejoices 'I lost my hearing, they'll never be able to tell me I'm fired again'" before laughing and just sitting there.

You go through a thing where it's only able to fit a specific size, you go into a room, with fish parts, a bunch of mouth wash and a fish covered in mouth wash. The fish cries for you to take them with you. Saying that choosing up or down was stupid. or was it left or right? They can't remember. So you take them with you. You go back to the main area and go up to the bandaged and what do you do? You consume him. You have no choice. You must consume.

You then change into a first person perspective cutscene, your a person on a ship giving pain killers to a bandaged man without both hands, without both feet and with no ears. A Deaf man who has no hands and feet, like each of the men in the joke. You feed the man painkillers with the first option being the same mouthwash in the room near the bathtub boat thing. You feed the man the painkillers then get an ad for mouth wash. and then the Cymothoa exigua in friend-os mouth appears asking you to wishlist the game mouthwash.

I like to think the second part/chapter is about over consumption. You must consume consume consume. And the choice you made that was extremely important doesn't matter, because all you must do is consume.

Anyways thats my thoughts :3

[smoothoperador]

K NO BUT CAN WE TALK ABOUT IT.

cause yeah ttpd is SO boring. like i know most of the songs are 3+ min but tbh most of them don’t sound like songs! gun to my head i couldn’t tell you the difference between the prophecy the manuscript chloe or sophia or marcus or whateverthefuck that song is called.

i miss when she put actual effort into her albums, like red. like the tv of red is so amazing, but with 1989 tv it just feels SO lacking especially in the production, and the vault songs don’t even sound like songs! like with red and fearless and even speak now we got fully produced songs that felt special, but with 1989 tv and 80% of ttpd it sounds like scraps she picked up from the floor and glued them together to make a semblance of a song and it’s so disheartening from someone who has genuinely loved her music for years and the different eras but now it all sounds the same

yeah i've been vocal about how much I dislike her new stuff dating back to midnights. i really DON'T LIKE this stripped down, minimalistic synthpop where everything is the same note and there is not a single drum or guitar and i found midnights quite frankly very underwhelming upon its release, but i figured to each their own; besides, taylor's sound famously always evolves in between eras. but she never departed from that direction, which i honestly don't know who to fault for... is it because she genuinely likes it and thinks it's her forte? (it's not. her forte is dramatic storytelling and epic guitars. her forte is speak now and folklore!!) is it because jack and aaron pull her in that direction? is it because she comes to them with half-assed ideas and they're too reluctant to go against their wishes? is it simply mass production of songs? idk, but what she knows is that she could release out a voice memo of her singing the abcs and it would go platinum.

the 1989 vault tracks were the ones i was looking forward to the most, and they were truly disappointing... 1989 had a clear line of production that i loved, but all of the vault tracks were CLEARLY produced after (or during) midnights. now it all feels like midnights rejects that didn't make the cut, and to be honest the last release that felt like it really belonged on its original album is all of the girls you loved before (and sntv vault tracks i guess, i didn't like them tho)

but even THEN midnights was bearable because it had highs (songs that were different, like snow on the beach; or songs that were poignant, like yoyok) but ttpd ... ttpd is unforgivably BLAND. all the songs mesh into one another, even without the sour aftertaste of matty healy the lyrics are abysmal in comparison to what she's come up with before. theres a few good songs hiding in there (so long london and who's afraid are my faves (but once again im gonna hunt down the coward who couldn't make it an actual ROCK song as it shouldve been), i hate it here could also be cute were it not for the corny gen-z title and horrible horrible 1830s lyric), but theyre all undermined by this boring ass coating that envelops the whole album and also drowned out by the sound of 31 SONGS (!!!!) 31 songs is like thrice the size of some albums and it's TOO. MUCH. doesn't give room for the good songs to shine and also pollutes the air with tracks that clearly should've never left taylor's diary. (ttpd song, bdilh, guilty as sin etc are all SO BAD AND ICKY theyre unforgivable)

i've said this before but taylor is truly the mcu of the music industry: she has an incredibly strong and devoted fanbase, she's easily accessible (as in she makes fun pop and pop rock with easy lyrics and hooks which is something MOST of the general public enjoys), she comes out with several new installments a year (of varying quality...), and the longer it goes the more enjoying her and her music requires an encyclopedic knowledge of her previous works (with all the references, easter eggs, etc). and im really sad to think we'll never see the daring taylor that released red when everyone was highly skeptical of the mixed pop/country sound, or the taylor that has the range to make both better than revenge and ivy.

[downforthegas]

Fart kink asks (all 25 bc why not)

Woah uhhhh damn thank you so much!!! I'm glad I can finally answer the questions I've always wanted to!!! Here we go:

When did you realize you were into farts? Age 16 when I first learned how to touch myself

How did you figure out you were into farts? Probably fart jokes in shows, you know how it goes (live action scooby doo movie ruined a generation lol)

What’s your favorite type of fart? Quite a lot. Bubbly, wet, bassy, rumbly, silent, squeaky, etc. The kind that smell awful, like rotten cheese, milk, or eggs

Are there any types of fart you don’t like? Of course not. Farts are farts. Even the short, quiet ones have their charm

What about farting do you find most appealing? Probably the smell but sound is really hot too. As for the types of farter, I'm a big fan of embarrassment, but confidence is also suuuuper hot depending on what I'm in the mood for

Do you have a preferred length or volume for farts? I mean not really but I find myself fantasizing about long farts. Even hyperfarts that last for hours maybe even days on end (i guess I do have a preferred length lol). As for volume, any is fine, but if it's long, its extra hot if its bubbly and quiet or silent

Does farting turn you on on its own or do you need to already be in the mood? Farting can turn me on in an instant like a switch

Do you have any other digestion-related kinks? Ooh so many. Burps, piss (I think that counts), scat, and vomit (but not for real, just in my head). Even general stomach issues like bloating and indigestion and even heart burn are hot

Do you have any other kinks that you enjoy being paired with farting? Farts and burps, farts and bloating, farts and scat, farts and spanking, farts and tying up, ugh the possibilities are endless

Is farting a must in sexual situations or is it more of a bonus? It's sort of a must but I don't want it to be. I try to get off to regular stuff with my partners (we still do farts stuff too), and I do but its hard bc its always been farts I've touched myself to. But I'm willing to change. Besides, not using farts helps me last longer

Have you ever acted on your desires IRL in an explicitly kinky manner? With myself? Yes. Not yet with my partners though

Is having a partner who can fart well important to you? Not really but it's nice when you have it, like I do right now hehe

Does anyone you personally know know about your kink? Two of my friends, one I still talk to. They're both really accepting. I think I told my sister but she was probably so traumatized, she forgot lol

Has anyone ever noticed/suspected your kink without you telling them about it? Not yet. Thank god though. Maybe my sis is getting suspicious but I'm not sure (if she really did forget)

Is there any media that you enjoy specifically for farts in it? Not a specific media in particular (I imagine my faves farting more if they're from medias with no fart jokes) but I do like looking at fart comps on youtube, mostly from cartoons

Do you have a favorite farting-related content creator (on tumblr or otherwise)? For fart models, I love Love Rachelle, Selena Loca, Santana Redd, Emma Ink, and Natasha F. For artists, there's too many to list but I love a lot of twitter artists like Carafalsa, ProButtonMasher, GasTank, and Solloros. For people on Tumblr, I love @sweetbubblies for their ocs. They include a lot of hyperfart stuff and I think they got me into diaper stuff. @grossgeck is awesome too. They're extra weird like me and it makes me feel less alone in this community

Would you ever consider recording your farts? Oh I recorded SO MANY of my farts and posted some here.

Are you a shy farter or do you fart freely? Depends who I'm around. Around fam? Strangers? Friends? no. Best friends and lovers? Yes but I get a little hesitant with best friends hehe

Are you good at farting? Uhhh well my farts smell bad and some can be like 5 seconds so I guess I'm good. But I'm EXCELLENT at pumped farts. I can fart on command and I can suck in a lot of air

Do you prefer farting yourself or hearing others fart? Either way I'm happy lol

Have you ever gotten into trouble for farting in a place or situation where you shouldn’t have? Ooh not yet but I have fantasized about trying that in a public setting somewhere. I am into humiliation after all

Have you ever gotten turned on by farting in an inconvenient place or situation? Again, no, but it turns me on to think about

Have you ever tried to make yourself gassy in order to fart? Oh I kinda do it all the time! Whether it's with food, chocolate milk (my love) and pumping air in me

Do you have any favorite foods or drinks for encouraging farting? Spicy foods, leafy green veggies, super greasy foods, and chocolate milk/regular milk

What’s your biggest fantasy involving farting? Me and both my current partners are gassy and they can both fart freely around me, but I have to have a plug in me until they say I'm allowed to pull it out. If we're having sex, I'm not allowed to take it out until I cum. Maybe they make me take it out in public so I'm forced to fart in front of a bunch of people. Or they need to be in the hot tub after sex. But there's no hot tub. But hey, there's enough bubbles in my system to make it one

[totaleclipse573]

In your opinion, why is Eclipse such a great character to beat up in fics?

OOOOOOOOOOO I like this question! >:D (Long answer warning, sorry XD)

Of course, there's the example that you have brought up before of him just being SO interesting when he's at his lowest. A character who was created and raised to KNOW that he's supposed to be the best of his kind, the ABSOLUTE best, has turned out to be. Not the best. He has been overpowered. He has failed. His whole life so far he has been told those things, now ruin it for him. How will that affect him? How will that RUIN HIM?

Sort of adding to that, its also interesting to do with his mentalities/behaviors. The way he takes things or certain events. The best way I can think to describe how it makes me feel is "I NEEEEEEED TO STUDY HIM." He wants a brother so badly but he needs to be the one to end him but he can't bring himself to truly do that so he lands himself in a painful cycle of giving Shadow chances again and again while saying that ONE DAY he'll be victorious over him knowing that the chances of anything really working and actually being able to have a brother are slim to none and its very much clear. And it hurts him so, so much, but he'll never show it. LIKE????

Bonus, something I kinda want to show in Starline au : its interesting to me how, at least I think, if you take something away from him that is really important to him, he starts to slowly fall apart. There are certain things that I think help him a lot with the trauma and such things that he very obviously internalizes/refuses to admit. For example, the Dark Arms. I like to see them as Eclipse's version of therapy pets, in a way. He needs them, they're his most specialest babies whom he loves very much 🥹 And they love him just as much! Eclipse will do anything to protect them, and vice versa. What if they were out of the picture, somehow...(spoilers : its a disaster for Clip's mental health)

Or, if you want a canon example : the New Black Comet. It seemed from his perspective that after the comet was destroyed, everything just went wrong for him. His entire species is gone, he's crash landed on some random island, most all of the eggs that were meant to hatch and restart the Black Arms were destroyed, oh four of them survived and theres an emerald on this island that we could use to gain power thats not so bad-HE GETS BEAT UP WHICH WE CAN SEE IN ONE PAGE MAKES HIM START TO DOUBT HIMSELF

HE GETS BEAT UP SOME MORE, WHICH LEAVES THE DARK ARMS IN PAIN ALONG WITH HIMSELF, AND THEY'RE FORCED TO GET ON A SHUTTLE AND ESCAPE TO SOME SWAMP SOMEWHERE (and that was the last we ever saw of poor baby boy) YOU CAN'T TELL ME THESE EVENTS AFTER ALLLLLL OF WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE COMET DIDN'T MAKE HIS MENTAL HEALTH EVEN WORSE.

I think I went a bit off topic after some ranting, but all in all, its just so interesting to see how he'll react, what it will do to him, etc. Its also just one of the things that makes him such a compelling character to begin with. Everything goes wrong for him, yet he persists, most likely knowing where it'll land him. And KNOWING this just makes it all the more fun to get him to an even lower point. Beating this guy up in fics is basically asking yourself "how far can he go with that mentality until he breaks?" The lesson here is : Give that boy some more trauma

[ome-magical-ramblings]

Good deeds, virtues don't sell.

The idea of talking about Virtues and Good deeds isn't as big or popular but it's a good enough topic that I feel deserve a post here. Mainly that the results from our livelihood deserve this aspect of action in the world...that sounded a bit weird writing it out. What I am saying is that your action in the world, your behavior with other, and a lot of the stuff you do "off the cushion" or "with normies" matter a lot when you go and do the rituals or even meditate.

The essence of all the practices is some kind of finicky adjustment and the real meat is what you do when you talk to people, when you act with people, and how this feed back into the whole equation. It doesn't matter how you talk to random people politely, what matter is how you talk, deal, and act with people close to you.

What are you doing in the world, how are the stuff manifesting in the world, is it all internal? you have to ask yourself these questions.

"The wrong person even with the right knowledge will come to no good end. But the right person even with the wrong (or incomplete) knowledge will make it work."

Some people might think of it as "oh I don't have a lot of money", it's not even about the money, if not by the money then you can help with time, with effort, with talking, with guiding, etc. It's not about always gain and loss in that sense. I think you can see it yourself, but if you don't do anything bad or anything good which is most of population they just tend to "blob" along the sea of life not sinking nor floating, most of their action are morally ambivalent or not even considered "actions" just motions. Paul Sedir in his book about how to Pray have a very good quote on this:

To make ourselves heard, our heart must speak the language of Heaven, and that language is charity; our person must become aware of his nothingness, and in this inner void infinity rushes in to fill it. Thus, belief is not enough; believing in God and not obeying Him is what only too many Christians do. I prefer those who claim not to believe yet obey the Divine Law. Praying without previously performing an act of charity can do nothing; whereas charity without faith still moves Heaven. Remember the wonderful stories of the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. It isn’t faith that begets charity, it is charity that begets faith. Faith isn’t an opinion of the brain, it’s a conviction of the heart. To have faith in someone isn’t to believe that the person exists; it’s to trust them, and to trust them wholeheartedly.

Faith means love of God, as charity means love of one’s fellow beings. These two flames grow through one another and feed one another.

I hope, this doesn't remove the importance of the experiences, the rituals, the practices, and so on. One of my friend said he didn't appreciate the Quran or wasn't moved by the Quran until he worked with Jaljalutiya prayer. So again it's a very tricky situation, there's no one way to crack this egg and some people who over-emphasize the charity too soon don't realize it could be a bit too bad for the people who didn't have the experience or understand why they would do that. I am not telling you to go out right now and do charity just because you read it in the internet, but think about it and contemplate it. Just like Paul Sedir said, they're two flames(prayer and Faith) working in conjunctions, your rituals, invocation, spellwork, etc AND your behavior irl, how you deal with people and how people see you, your actions, thoughts, and words. You can't just practice 1 hour a day and do shit for the rest of the 23 hours. The WHOLE thing is your practice.

Let me end this two points, first a quote and lastly a technique. The Quote from G.O Mebes' Minor Arcana course:

An isolation for too long could harden your heart and damage the intuition. A period of self-analysis lasting too long, developing the principle of reason, could take place at the cost of sensitivity, which is also necessary. This is the first danger that the disciple encounters on the Way and that you need to avoid, instituting an adequate "modus vivendi" in your environment. Ethical Hermeticism teaches that it is preferable to take just one step forward and advance your environment - even a tenth part of that step - than to take ten steps, giving nothing to the environment. It is by giving that man receives.

The technique is either the Planetary Charity which you can read about extensively here and the other one is that aim to just do one good deed a day, to counsel a friend, to drop one cent in a charity box, to pray for the dead, or to help a friend with a problem. Again, Charitable and good deeds have a lot of ways to come about them so why not try praying to be in the position to help people ;) maybe that prayer can be answered. May the Divine Creator open the way for us to help one another as brothers and sisters.

Sincerely, From the Heart.

[angeldeviloshi]

Aki on another household shopping trip with Denji and Power and finding himself taking a little too long looking at the mugs. They don't really need one since there's already enough for the three of them at home and potential guests.

Specifically, there are these round egg-shaped mugs with ice-cream prints and designs on them, they look suitable for having ice-cream with too... they would go well with a certain someone he knows, they don't really need it though. But would it hurt to have one at home just in case, on the off chance that he comes over? They're on a special discount right now.

Aki picturing that certain someone holding the mug with both hands, blowing on the hot coffee Aki poured for him to cool it down before sipping on it. Digging into mug ice-cream with a spoon...

Which design should Aki go for, which one would he like? Wait why is he taking so long to think about this? What is he fantasising about. The Angel Devil doesn't care about stuff like this. The mug will more than likely be collecting dust in his cabinet instead.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Angel Devil has no idea why Aki brought him back to his apartment. They're off work, he couldn't wait to get back and hit the sack than to deal with what else Aki wants him to do in this human's house.

Those two imps don't seem to be around. The Angel Devil asks Aki if he's not concerned about getting killed right under his nose by a devil without the protection of his chaotic wards in his own home. The devil could escape just like that too.

Aki tells him that "the devil" wouldn't bother with that much effort before telling him there's ice cream in the fridge. The Angel Devil hates how Aki could easily dismiss and placate him like this at the same time. Aki hands him a mug of ice cream and the Angel Devil can't help but take note of its peculiar design: pastel ice cream prints with small angel wings on the side. It couldn't be, could it?

"Whose mug is this?"

The Angel Devil can't imagine Aki being a collector of zany mugs, the image of this mug doesn't seem to fit the other two residents of this apartment either, but he could be wrong. Maybe they did something and Aki is letting him use one of their mugs to spite them.

"It was just lying around, I might as well use it."

Not a helpful answer but it's not like there's any point in pressing it anyways, he'll just impose for the ice cream this human offered him.

Denji barges in through the front door loudly proclaiming his return soon after, that means Power shouldn't be far behind either. There's going to be a storm in this apartment the moment they see him there eating from one of their mugs. At least the devil isn't going to be here for long, he has no plans to anyway.

Denji freezes as he spots the Angel Devil in the living room wondering what he's doing here, Aki reminds him to wash up before dinner.

So Aki brought him here, why though? He catches sight of the ice cream patterned mug the Angel Devil's holding.

"Hey, is this why you ran off at the cashier to grab that like last week? You made me hold up the line for this??"

"I was just using up my points." The human sounds uncharacteristically defensive here, the Angel Devil thinks.

"But aren't those already on discount? I thought points only-"

"Go take a bath."

"Okay, sheesh." Denji concedes taking his leave from the living room but not before giving Aki a knowing, skeptical look that Aki returned with a stern glare, telling him to drop it.

So, this is how the human is like at home huh. The Angel Devil is amused.

"Do you do this for all your buddies?" The Angel Devil asks holding up the mug.

"I don't have the room for that." the human replies curtly.

Dodging the question again. Does he realise how much he gives himself away when he's like this? Or maybe this is simply how he's choosing to convey his sentiments.

"But I guess, it's not so bad having even just one thing to cherish the fact that they lived, that they're still living...something like that..."

The Angel Devil could hear the roar of a typhoon ringing in the back of his mind as he listens to Aki. A silent acknowledgement.

That's right, this human doesn't have long to live. The devil might very well be the last one for him, he wants to cherish this partnership with the devil, huh. This human is making him eat out of this tangible sentimentality of his, presented with the taste of indulgent sweetness that the devil has become addicted to.

The Angel Devil hands the now empty mug to Aki, asking for a drink this time. When he gets the mug back again, he's greeted with steamy, aromatic black liquid. Freshly brewed coffee. First something sweet, now something bitter from this human. How fitting.

Holding the mug up to his lips, the Angel Devil blows into the mug to cool the coffee down. Just as Aki had pictured in his mind. Taking a sip, the drink is unmistakably bitter, yet carries with it a pleasant richness and warmth along the devil's tongue and down his throat.

The front door slams open a second time as Power boisterously declares her return, wasting no time with her demands for dinner. That's his cue to leave right after he finishes drinking.

Just before the Angel Devil could say anything as he returned the mug to Aki...

"It's almost dinnertime, I'll send you back afterwards. Go wash your hands."

"Huh?"

"A glutton like you should still have room for dinner, no? I'm trying to clear out the fridge so..."

Aki averts his gaze, unable to finish his sentence. So...what? His eyes return to the Angel Devil with a look that suggests the devil would have the words for what it is he was trying to convey.

The Angel Devil looks down. The mug in front of his eyes. "Only...if the food is good."

"Of course it is." The human sounds confident.

Leaving the mug on the table, the Angel Devil stands up to have his hands washed at the restroom as Aki requested.

How will the human flavour his sentimentality next? The Angel Devil didn't wonder for long as a screech tore into his ears the moment he stepped into the hallway, into the Blood fiend's line of sight.

He hopes the human could provide him with seconds for having to put up with the impending mayhem at the dinner table.