DAY 9: FICTIONARY

Write a dictionary-style definition for the word EC.DYS.IAST (pronounced eckDIZeeAST). Use ECDYSIAST with your fictitious definition in a story. Start with : It all started when . . .

Ecdysiast: 1. noun - someone practicing ecdysia or body tattooing using only naturally occuring dyes or inks.

It all started when Juno met Bruce five years ago. Since then they have been hanging out. Bruce was a tattoo artist and his passion rubbed off on Juno. But Juno, who had his own quirks, wanted to take tattooing a step further. He wanted to stand out among the practitioners -- consistent with his being an "organic" aficionado, he wanted to use purely natural dyes and inks. Even his needles were the organic kind. He started toying with bright colored insects that were known to yield bright colors and crushed them to get just the hue he imagined. He also built up a collection of common plant dyes. But he was not satisfied. He was obsessed with getting his dyes solely from the human body. Anybody would be grossed out by the green puke from someone who hasn't eaten anything in days, when the stomach contains only acids and bile. Green. Naturally occurring green. Blood, that's always available, but even blood has different shades and he wanted to get as many shades and consistency as he can get his hands on. A thousand substances from the human body. He gets a high from discovering new ways to use human fluids and tissues for his works of body art.

So the killings were baffling the police when it first began. . .