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piecksz · 4 years

Note

animeverse where eren is still in his cell and hange+others have an idea of bringing ina girl to fuc to 'loosen him up' so he can give info,hange has studies n research to back this up they bring you dressed scantily to go be his whore he knows why ur there n hates u so hes mean and ignores ur advances eventually he hate fucks u w his anger being directed at u from his situation choking xtreme degrading just being rough in general MEAN SERIOUS EREN NO FLUFF OR LOVE

catalyst

eren yeager x reader

warnings: nsfw, roughness, mentions of breeding, degredation, choking, explicit language

a/n: this is my first prompt request n i was vvvv nervous so pls go easy on me ok ok i hope i did your vision justice

“As romantic as this reunion is, it’s not a date, we need answers.” Levi’s words were austere, ricocheting off the passage walls as the three of you traveled deeper below ground. “He’s still a shitty-ass teenager. Hopefully isolation has made him desperate enough for female contact.”

You said nothing, and instead your eyes looked around fretfully. The chamber was inhospitable, forged from naked rock adorned with smoldering torches. Your minimal attire was inapt in its frigid ambience, so you walked clung to yourself, arms wrapped around your bare shoulders to retain as much body heat as you possibly could.

“Are you sure this is gonna work?” Levi questioned Hange, keeping his attention forward. He maneuvered through the sharp turns of the labyrinth, which gave you the impression he’d had many experiences down in the cells with his comrades.

Hange released a tremulous sigh. “It doesn’t matter. We’re out of options.” Their nervous tone had them looking over their shoulder, reassuring you with a placid smile. The gesture was thoughtful, considering it had felt like you’d been a third party to their strategic and undivided conversation, but it did nothing to soothe your hesitancy.

Levi and Hange had tracked you down and invited you to meet with them, urgently explaining that they needed your help with debriefing Eren after his insubordination and his blitz on Marley. He’d refused to disclose any further information about his conduct to anyone in the military, not even Mikasa and Armin, his closest confidants. So Hange suggested bringing in someone unbiased, someone not in the military to ruse more details out of Eren.

You were their prime choice after hearing how you and Eren had met when the Anti-Marleyan volunteers had arrived on Paradis. You’d been one of the several civilian volunteers that had helped with affairs and military proceedings at the port. There you’d met Eren and quickly forged a friendship, although Eren’s friends could have sworn there was more between you two than you would have liked to admit.

You weren’t sure why you agreed to their proposal. Perhaps it was your readiness to help the military in their righteous endeavors, or maybe it was for a different reason. Perhaps you were driven by your own selfishness. You wanted to see Eren again, even under the strange circumstances.

Eren’s cell was at the end of the corridor. Once Hange let out an abrupt “we’re here” your lips carried an eager smile, but your expression quickly faltered once you stepped forward and caught a glimpse of him in his cell. Even with the arrival of visitors, Eren kept his head forward while he sat on his bed, one arm balanced on his knee.

“Nice of you guys to pay me another visit. I’m starting to think you just miss me.” Eren’s voice was deep. So much deeper than you remembered. How long had it been? You couldn’t do the math.

“You know you’re our favorite problem child.” Levi responded humorlessly. He stepped aside for Hange to slip the key in the lock, and with one turn the door was swung open. “Don’t look so agitated. We brought you a gift.”

You made no efforts to step out from behind Hange and Levi, but Eren could see you clearly enough. You weren’t sure what you were expecting, but maybe it was foolish of you to envision Eren slipping out of his troubled temper the moment you two saw each other again. Realistically, it never would have been that easy. Eren’s face remained hard, if anything it looked like seeing you made him even angrier.

Hange’s hand found its way onto your shoulder, supportive, but reminding you of the reason why you were there.

You shuffled forward, heels loud against the granite cobblestone. Darkness swallowed you as you crept in further, and you flinched at the sound of the heavy door being shut and secured behind you. Looking over your shoulder, your heart began racing at the sight of solid metal bars separating you from the outside.

“Let’s give them some space,” Levi suggested, stepping back from the cell.

Hange’s mouth opened to protest, but they were discouraged by Levi’s strong grip on their ear.

“We’ll be waiting outside if you need us, Y/N.” Levi announced through Hange’s squalls of pain. He gave you a comforting nod before his eyes drifted to Eren, and his expression toughened again. “Don’t try anything. Screams echo down here.” He paused and then turned on his heel to leave, tugging Hange’s ear before releasing it from his hold.

You watched nervously as the two of them disappeared behind the wall.

Hange’s voice was heard again further down the hall. “That hurt a lot, you know.”

It was the last remark you heard from the pair before you heard the door to the corridor close, and then worry flooded your system like it was on an intravenous drip. The Eren you were convinced you were meeting was replaced by someone you weren’t sure you knew, and suddenly you felt unsafe being alone with him, but you held an obligation to Levi, Hange, and the rest of the military that needed the information they expected you to gather.

You walked slowly, feigning a gentle smile to masquerade as though you were happy. It hurt to know that it was something you had to fake. You sat at the edge of Eren’s bed and took note as he made no efforts to shift away. That had to have been a positive sign.

“You look different,” you chuckled. “I like it.” The weak blaze from the burning torches casted a menacing shadow onto Eren’s stolid face. In the half light of the cell he appeared much older. You reached a hand out to brush away the loose wisps of hair that decorated his face, but your movement was stopped by Eren’s unyielding grip around your wrist.

You jumped, surprised at his roughness.

“Do you honestly think you can outsmart me?” His words were bitter.

You looked at Eren with wide, stunned eyes before blinking quickly and trying to laugh off your clear fright.

“What are you talking about?” You brought your unrestrained hand to his jawline, fingers tracing the shape of his face until your touch met the broad span of his chest, and then you felt gutsy enough to slip your fingers under the fabric of his shirt. “You’ve been down here too long. Not everyone’s your enemy, Eren.”

Your fingers wandered far enough until they met the defined curve of his collarbone and the robust muscle of his chest, but the moment was fleeting, interrupted by the jolt of Eren shoving you backwards. You fell off the bed and teetered, momentarily losing your balance.

“It’s pitiful that you’re letting them use you as a pawn.” Eren’s words were sharp, but venom in his words were bearable compared to the resentment behind his eyes.

He knew. He was smart, you should have known he would catch on. You created distance between yourself and Eren.

“What? They’re not using me as a pawn.” Your voice was unsteady. “I promise Eren, I have no idea what you’re talking about, but you can help me understand if you just—”

“Then why are you here?” Eren rose from his bed to begin closing the distance you created, and your body began to quiver with dread.

You continued inching backwards until your tailbone collided with the edge of the cell’s sink, and you latched onto it with a sweaty grip.

“I’d rather be a pawn than be driven to do terrible things out of my own free will!” You had no choice but to admit what he already knew, and in seconds Eren’s hands were strung tightly around your wrists while he trapped your body against the sink.

“I’m sorry,” you apologized quickly, blinking back tears. You searched for something past his eyes, just a modicum of vulnerability to at least let you know there was a person behind the Eren you were speaking to, but the once fiery hues of green and blue in his irises were now frosted to an unremarkable grey. If it was true that eyes were the window to the soul, Eren was truly void.

“Please let go.” You pleaded and writhed in his grip. “Eren, seriously let go. You’re hurting me.”

“I don’t expect someone like you to understand.” Eren’s face showed nothing but malevolence.

“Someone like me?”

Eren pushed you back further into the sink until you bit back a shrill cry. “Someone that’s never had to make any sacrifices.”

Tear after tear did nothing to ease Eren’s painful hold, and as obvious as it was that he was hurting you, he remained unconcerned.

“Who are you?” You shook your head. “This isn’t the Eren I know.”

“Then your first mistake was thinking that you ever knew me.”

Eren’s words were somber, but he moved swiftly, and in seconds he tore you from the sink and had you pinned up against the wall, it’s jagged surface digging uncomfortably into your cheek. His mouth hovered by your ear, and when he spoke his breath fanned over the side of your face.

“Scream and I’ll break you.”

So you said nothing as Eren’s knee slid in between your legs, parting them far enough so that he could press his thigh to your cunt. His hands retired from holding your arms behind your back, and they traveled to your ass, riding up the fabric of your dress until it was on full display.

“This is nice.” His voice was condescending as tugged on your dress's short hem. “They did a good job at making you look—,” Eren delivered a sharp spank to the exposed skin then he ran his hand over the area searing with pain, “—like a whore.”

You took your bottom lip between your teeth to stifle a wail as Eren’s palm collided with your backside. He slipped a wicked finger under the thin material of your underwear and dipped his touch down between your thighs to stroke your folds through the cloth.

“Why are you shaking?” Eren used his free hand and slid it around your neck, gently at first, but you knew he wasn’t averse to tightening his grasp. “I thought this was all part of your plan.”

It had been, but your tremors weren’t the result of fear alone. You were scared out of your wits knowing that Eren had no reservations about harming you, and the thought shouldn’t have been as enticing as it was, but the combination of not knowing how he would choose to have his way with you had you feeling hot.

Your words were muffled through sobs, and your dazed mind didn’t make things easier, so all you could do was nod, which solicited a dry scoff from Eren. He hooked his finger around the fabric of your underwear and tugged it aside forcefully before parting your folds.

You released a feeble moan, and you could feel your knees buckling. If it weren’t for his tight grip, you were certain you would have collapsed. “Eren…”

“You’re wet already,” he said scornfully. Two fingers rubbed your clit mercilessly before slipping down to tease your entrance. “Acting scared meanwhile the whole time you were fucking dripping at the thought of me touching you like this. I don’t have to tell you how pathetic that is.”

Your breathing grew more labored at the anticipation of Eren’s long fingers entering you, pumping in and out of your hole while he ridiculed you for how desperately you tightened around his fingers, but you inhaled sharply when his touch disappeared.

Instead you felt Eren wipe your arousal on the inside of your thigh, and you had no time to question his behavior. A pitiful cry of surprise left your mouth as he grabbed the back of your neck, forcibly pulling you off the wall before throwing you in the direction of his bed.

“Move,” he commanded.

You staggered, looking back at him in alarm, but observed his directive without sacrificing any more time. Once you reached his bed, Eren followed closely behind, waiting until your back met the mattress to cage you in under his intimidating frame, and it then became clear that he held no other resolve than to use you for his own satisfaction. He disregarded your discernable ache and began unbuttoning his pants, pushing them down along with his briefs in one haste motion.

Eren’s large cock was already half-thickened with beads of precum glistening at its crown. He brought his palm to his mouth and spat in it before grabbing himself in the large curve of his hand to pump his length in preparation. He ran his tip up and down your folds, taking pleasure in the way you squirmed every time it prodded your tender clit, and then without warning he drove his cock into you, kindling a fervid cry that rose from the pit of your stomach and tore through your throat.

The sound echoed off the walls of the concrete box before ebbing into silence. Eren’s eyebrows creased in irritation while he looked down at you, and you suddenly harked back to his threat. You threw a quivering hand over your mouth, and shook your head, spluttering out a fragmented apology.

“I—Eren—I—I’m sorry…”

Yet he took no heed, and he began thrusting in and out of you, rocking back just to slam his hips into yours, over and over again until an uncomfortable pain grew from deep inside you and diffused over the span of your pelvis. All you could do was swallow your wails while your palm did it’s best efforts to smother your pleas. Fat tears ran down your cheeks and soaked into the sheets; your agony was hard to hide.

“Stop crying,” Eren barked through grunts. He pressed his hand to the hollow of your neck, fingers digging into your fleeting pulse. “You said yourself you have no problem being used.”

Sweaty fingers clutched his forearm, and you struggled against his dominance, breaths growing more and more shallow in an effort to conserve the air you were quickly losing.

He grabbed your wrists and held them together, pinning them to the mattress above your head with one hand.

“Maybe I should put a baby in you, then you’ll understand why what I’m doing is our last resort.”

Eren arched an eyebrow, but when you said nothing and only looked at him with glossy eyes a disdainful laugh slipped past his lips. He continued fucking himself deep into you, watching the way your body lurched with his movement, and then you felt his cock pulsate inside you.

It served as wordless notice that Eren was close, especially since he made no efforts to warn you. His eyes shut tightly, jaw hung slack while his groans intensified, and then he was cumming inside you, his hot seed flooding your walls as he claimed you.

You wound your eyes shut too, dark mascara-tainted tears staining your cheeks while you felt Eren thrusting through his high, making sure he had jettisoned every drop of his cum into you before he pulled himself out and wiped the creamy, white liquid that glazed his cock on the inside of your thigh.

“And when you report back, why don’t you tell them—” As if it were nothing he eased his weight off of you, taking a seat on the bed beside your shuddering body while he tucked himself back into his pants. “‘I let him fuck me pregnant because I’m a whore.’”

#reesprompts #eren yeager x reader #eren yeager smut #attack on titan smut #aot smut #attack on titan x reader #aot x reader #attack on titan au #aot au #attack on titan imagines #aot imagines #eren yeager fic

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takaraphoenix · 2 years

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I just had my first Dark/ina Anti in my inbox. And I’m just, holy shit how do you use tumblr and still haven’t learned how to blacklist things, how do you use tumblr and still think that it’s in any way or shape appropriate to harass people over dumb fictional ships.

I mean seriously. I don’t even post about the ship. Which means whoever this petty bitch is must have been a follower of mine who just had a properly tagged GIF set that I reblogged on their dash.

(Which also implies that I had an anti following me, so take this post as a PSA: If you’re a big enough cunt to think that it’s okay to harass people over ships and other fictional shit they enjoy? Unfollow me right now. Maybe also leave me your username so I can block you <3 This is a pro-shipper blog, fuck you square <3)

If people get mad when shippers don’t tag things, I actually get that! I feel the same! I hate having gross-ass ships on my dash because OP and the person who reblogged it didn’t tag it. I do, however, not give a rat’s ass if someone I follow ships something I personally dislike, because as long as it’s tagged, I will never ever see it, because I blacklist the ships I hate.

I mean damn, SaB’s been on air long enough now that you can just go and put the ship you personally don’t like on your blacklist. I mean, seriously, I was half a season into this show before I blacklisted the ship I find the grossest on this show. And I literally don’t even have to see any of these properly tagged GIF sets or posts on my dash - and you could too!

It’s entirely on you. You chose not to blacklist it. And then you chose to be a gross, petty little cunt who sends hate to the people who ship this entirely fictional ship and who make properly tagged posts about it.

That’s beyond childish and stupid. Fuck off, shut up and learn how to use tumblr.

#Shipping Discourse

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mednerds · 4 years

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She Had a Headache for Months. Then She Could Barely See.

By Lisa Sanders, M.D. (The New York Times). Illustration by Ina Jang.

The 61-year-old woman put on her reading glasses to try to decipher the tiny black squiggles on the back of the package of instant pudding. Was it two cups of milk? Or three? The glasses didn’t seem to help. The fuzzy, faded marks refused to become letters. The right side of her head throbbed — as it had for weeks. The constant aggravation of the headache made everything harder, and it certainly wasn’t helping her read this label. She rubbed her forehead, then brought her hand down to cover her right eye. The box disappeared into darkness. She could see only the upper-left corner of the instructions. Everything else was black. She quickly moved her hand to cover her left eye. The tiny letters sprang into focus.

She moved back to the right: blackness. Over to the left: light and letters. That scared her. For the past few months, she’d had one of the worst headaches she had ever experienced in her lifetime of headaches. One that wouldn’t go away no matter how much ibuprofen she took. One that persisted through all the different medications she was given for her migraines. Was this terrible headache now affecting her vision? The neurologists she saw over the years always asked her about visual changes. She’d never had them, until now.

“Should I take you to the hospital?” her husband asked anxiously when she told him about her nearly sightless left eye. “This could be serious.” She thought for a moment. No, tomorrow was Monday; her neurologist’s office would be open, and the doctor would see her right away. She was always reliable that way.

The patient had bad headaches for most of her adult life. They were always on the right side. They were always throbbing. They could last for days, or weeks, or sometimes months. Loud noises were always bothersome. With really bad headaches, her eye would water and her nose would run, just on that side. Bending over was agony. For the past few weeks, her headache had been so severe that if she dropped something on the floor, she had to leave it there. When she bent down, the pounding was excruciating.

When she was younger, the headaches seemed to come on with her periods. So in her mid-30s, after she had her daughter, she had her uterus and ovaries taken out. She was hopeful for the first couple of weeks, but then the episodes of throbbing pain came back, bad as ever. Her doctors told her they were migraines. And it seemed that she had been on every migraine medication ever created. Her newest doctor had her on an anti-seizure medication used to prevent migraines, along with Excedrin Migraine to take once they got started. She had been taking this twin therapy for weeks, but this headache just wouldn’t relent.

A ‘Second Heart’

The woman saw her neurologist early the next afternoon. The doctor was worried, too. She ordered an M.R.I. and referred the patient to Dr. Robert Lesser, a neuro-ophthalmologist just outside New Haven, Conn. In Lesser’s exam room, the patient explained first to the technician, then to the doctor, that she’d had this headache for months. Sometimes the pain was worse, sometimes better, but it was always there, throbbing and pounding on the right side of her head. It was as if she had a second heart crammed into her skull, beating, squeezing, crowding. Recently, her vision seemed to get worse, blurrier. Blinking didn’t help. And then she discovered that when she covered the right eye, she could see hardly anything.

The constant presence of the headache, and for weeks at a time, immediately brought to Lesser’s mind a rare condition called hemicrania continua. As the name suggests, it’s a unilateral headache that persists long past the normal duration and is often accompanied by eye redness or tearing. It’s a strange kind of headache, related to other odd headaches — like cluster headaches — in which the underlying causes are still mysterious. He’d seen maybe 20 cases in the past. While those patients often had eye symptoms, they were always on the same side as the headache. This patient reported changes in the other eye. What would cause pain on one side and a loss of vision on the other? Multiple sclerosis could cause neurological symptoms anywhere in the body. Or was this a mass somewhere in her brain? It would take several space-occupying lesions to cause the kind of pressure and pain she described and affect her vision. But she had already had an M.R.I., and nothing was seen.

Lesser examined her eyes. Even up close, they looked normal. Each pupil responded to light equally. He took pictures of the back of her eyes, first the right, then the left. There are two places of special interest in the retina. The optic disc is the area where the nerves carrying visual information connect to the brain. Increased pressure in the eye, from a mass or from glaucoma, can cause swelling or atrophy in the nerves, which can often be seen. But in this woman, the optic nerve on both sides looked completely normal. Another region on the retina, called the macula, is where most of the visual receptors are located. This tiny region is responsible for most of our color and detail perception. In this patient, the macula was normal on the right but appeared swollen and discolored on the left.

Disconnect

Seeing this, Lesser knew that the headache and the visual changes were caused by separate disease processes. The headache was most likely hemicrania continua. The test to confirm this diagnosis is a therapeutic trial of an old medicine called indomethacin, a relative of ibuprofen and naproxen. This type of headache is wonderfully responsive to this particular drug, probably because it more easily crosses the blood-brain barrier, which keeps out so many other drugs.

The lesion on the woman’s retina was more concerning. It could be something common like central serous chorioretinopathy (C.S.C.), which causes places in the retina to swell. It’s more common in young people and those with Type A personalities. C.S.C. can cause distressing vision abnormalities and sometimes requires treatment if it doesn’t resolve on its own within a month or two. That was the most likely diagnosis. But there was another possibility that was far more serious: malignant melanoma of the retina. This is much less common but potentially deadly. The patient needed to be seen by a retina specialist to distinguish between these two very different possibilities. Lesser sat down with the woman. It was a good news-bad news type of conversation. She may be able to get rid of her lifetime headache with a pill she would take twice a day. But she also may have one of the most dangerous forms of cancer known.

Dark Side, Bright Side

The woman saw Dr. Thomas Berenberg, a retina specialist in Lesser’s group practice. It was melanoma. She had radiation therapy, which eliminated the growth in her eye. Although that was nearly a year and a half ago, she still must have regular follow-up exams to make certain it stays gone.

On the brighter side, she started taking indomethacin right after she saw Lesser. It took a couple of weeks, but finally her headache melted away and, for the most part, has stayed away. She had a hint of a recurrence and started the indomethacin immediately, and the throbbing pain vanished and hasn’t come back. Still, her sight hasn’t recovered in her left eye, which forced her to retire from her job as a court reporter. The double vision caused by the damaged eye keeps her from reading. She is optimistic, though. She feels as though she dodged a bullet. The cursed throbbing pain led to a diagnosis that saved her life. And as an extra bonus, she got rid of her constant headache. This past year, she and her husband moved to South Carolina, where their daughter lives. And the woman is getting a contact lens to block the vision in her left eye, so she should be able to read once more very soon. All in all, she feels pretty lucky.

#medicine #science #dignosis #medblr #neuroscience #headache #neurology

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blueares · 4 years

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Hololive EN Noble Phantasm

Since this post turned out to be unexpectedly popular, I decided to do a follow-up.

Takanashi Kiara (Saber) Legacy of the Phoenix: Countless Lives I Have Lived (Anti-Unit_Self Rank: A) A sublimation of Kiara’s true origin as a phoenix. Passively, this Noble Phantasm manifests as feathers on Kiara’s body that contain the power of resurrection, which activates each time Kiara dies. Each resurrection consumes a feather, and temporarily lowers Kiara’s parameters upon revival. When its True Name is spoken, Kiara sacrifices all remaining feathers to transform herself into a majestic phoenix, gaining considerable boosts to all parameters at the cost of her ability to resurrect.

Mori Calliope (Assassin) Please RIP: Forgive My Rudeness, But Die (Anti-Army Rank B) A song composed and performed by the reaper Mori Calliope. Legends claim the song was written long ago, but has been revised into the form of a rap due to Assassin’s modern musical tastes. A melody embodying twisted views of death and an almost sadistic pleasure of ending human life, those who hear it have a high probability of succumbing to the reaper’s curse and perishing instantly upon reaching the chorus. However, those with high curse resistance or abilities that permit resurrection, or simply already have an association with death, are immune to its effects.

Gawr Gura (Lancer) GURA Shark: Apex Atlantean Predator (Anti-Army Rank C+) A manifestation of Gura’s true form. Upon activation, Gura will create a Bounded Field and flood the area with water, simulating a deep sea environment. Gura then transforms into her true form as a mythical breed of shark native to Atlantis, gaining tremendous boosts to her speed and strength parameters, and lunges at foes from the darkness to rip them to shreds.

Amelia Watson (Berserker) Watson Concoction: Detective’s Secret Weapon (Anti-Unit Rank B) A special drug created and administered by Watson herself. Upon manifesting, she will be summoned with two instances of this drug contained in syringes attached to her legs, but will otherwise have to create it herself by gathering the necessary reagents. The drug, once injected, serves as a powerful hallucinogenic that serves to confuse and disorient opponents, lowering their parameters and making it near-impossible to unleash Noble Phantasms. However, those with skills like Poison Resistance can potentially nullify the effects entirely.

Ninonae Ina’nis (Foreigner) Ina’nis Abyss: Draw Along With the Ancient Ones! (Anti-Humanity Rank EX) Reading a verse from her mysterious tome, Ina performs a ‘sanity check’ on everyone around her. Those with high mental fortitude will be totally unaffected, but those who fail the check succumb to the whispers of Ancient Ones residing inside of Ina. Their bodies and minds are ‘scanned’ and transferred onto a ‘canvas,’ and publicly distorted before a mysterious ‘audience.’ Should one survive this attack, they will be afflicted with permanent debuffs to all parameters.

#Hololive #Hololive EN #Takanashi Kiara #Mori Calliope #Gawr Gura #Amelia Watson #Ninomae Ina'nis #FGO #Fate/Hololive

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manyimaginativemuses · 6 years

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Small Bump - Chapter 8

Rating: M+

Warnings: New character introduced >:)

Read on AO3

The next few days were rather tumultuous for Lucy. Unfortunately, the anti-nausea spell Michael performed wasn’t exactly working. She spent nearly four whole days hunched over the toilet as Michael tried his best to help her all while he was working with the Cooperative to start making advancements towards repopulating the Earth. Melanie’s ginger tea recipe was helping slightly, but there wasn’t much relief for Lucy until about a week later.

She woke up one morning, her stomach finally not churning for once, and she let out a sigh of relief. Michael was already gone, a note on the bedside table explaining that he’d been called away for a meeting. Lucy was starting to worry about how much time he was spending with the Cooperative. If they were calling him away at all hours of the night and day, would he be there for her and their twins? She was so anxious that she knew she needed to clear her mind or her nerves would have her face first in the toilet yet again. Taking a deep breath and getting herself dressed, Lucy made her way to the familiar indoor garden that she loved. All the colorful flowers and the gentle breeze from the open windows usually did wonders for her anxiety and depression. Little did she know there was someone else heading to the indoor garden as well that day… Someone who had been tracking her for quite some time, making sure to keep themselves out of Michael’s gaze until the moment was right.

And the moment Lucy walked into the Sanctuary’s indoor garden that fateful morning seemed to be the perfect time.

“I’ve always admired how they manage to keep this place thriving with life, especially given all the death and devastation surrounding us.” A woman spoke up and Lucy turned around, coming face to face with Senator Allyson Mayfair-Richards. Lucy had tried her best in high school to keep up with the news and Senator Mayfair-Richards’s rise to power was certainly one she had kept her eye on. She admired how this beautiful and powerful woman managed to beat all the odds and make it to the top. So to see this woman that she looked up to for so long standing right in front of her, Lucy was downright speechless.

“O-oh my God… You’re Senator Mayfair-Richards!” Lucy exclaimed, her eyes going wide in surprise. The woman before her just chuckled and nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Yeah. But you can just call me Ally. After all, there’s not really a government anymore for me to be a senator for.” Ally smirked, crossing her arms. She couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as she noticed the slight rounding of Lucy’s abdomen. After ridding herself of all her phobias, Ally started noticing things others generally missed. This included Lucy’s stomach that she had tried her best to keep hidden under her sweatshirt.

“Ally… Well it’s lovely to meet you! I’m Lucy, I’m a big fan of yours.” Lucy said with a smile, extending her hand which Ally happily took.

“Well the pleasure is all mine, Lucy. After all, us women gotta stick together in these hard times.” Ally shook Lucy’s hand and Lucy couldn’t stop smiling.

“I agree! I used to watch you speak on the news and I wish we had a senator like you in California where I lived.” She admitted with a shrug, her emotions seeming to suddenly get the better of her as Lucy felt lightheaded out of nowhere. She sat down on a nearby bench, a look of concern crossing Ally’s face.

“Are you ok?” Ally asked and Lucy nodded with a sigh.

“I’m fine… I’m just ten weeks pregnant with twins and these babies are already giving me a hard time. My midwife thinks I’ve got something called hyperemesis gravidarum.” Lucy explained, the Latin words sounding foreign to her ears, “It’s been hard finding one good day where I’m not just hunched over the toilet.” She gave a dry laugh as Ally sat down beside her, knowing this was exactly her way into Lucy’s life.

“You know, I have a son, and my pregnancy with him as anything but smooth, let me tell you. I’m still amazed my ex wife was able to deal with all of my bullshit.” Ally said with a laugh, “If you ever want any help with this, I live on floor 3, section C, room 12.”

“Oh my God, Ally, thank you. That’d be really helpful.” Lucy replied, her hand lazily rubbing the small bump under her sweatshirt. She then gave a heavy sigh, biting her lip as an odd question formed in her mind, “Did your ex wife work while you were pregnant?”

“Yeah, both of us did. Well, her more so than me. Why do you ask?”

“It’s just… The father of my children, my boyfriend, he’s very high up in the Cooperative and he’s been absent quite a lot lately due to his job. I just wanted to know if your ex wife was away on work duties a lot… And if she was, did that affect your pregnancy? Was she at work so often that she missed your delivery?” Lucy was clearly nervous and Ally could sense it. She hoped she could use Lucy’s nervousness to her advantage. To get under her skin far enough that she would trust her, and therefore, she would be close enough to get the leverage she needed.

“Ivy was a bit of a workaholic during my pregnancy. She wanted to make sure we had enough money to support Ozzy when he came. However, despite all that, she was there for me when it really mattered and she was there when he was born. Even though we had our many, many, MANY differences, Ivy was a good mother and was amazing with Ozzy.” Ally’s store only made Lucy worry even more but Ally reached over and took her hand, “Hey you said your man is high up with the Cooperative right? Well, if he’s as high as you say, if you ask him to take a few days off, that shouldn’t be too hard for him.” She suggested and Lucy raised an eyebrow. She had once considered that, but she knew Michael was busy rebuilding the world. He and the Cooperative were dividing up the world to the survivors and Lucy didn’t really want to disrupt that.

But then again, she didn’t want him to miss the major milestones of his children’s development.

“You’re right. After all, I am the mother of his children. He should have more reason than ever to spend time with me.” Lucy replied, feeling slightly better as she and Ally began to talk almost incessantly.

However, Lucy had no idea that this was all part of Ally’s plan from the start.

Ever since Ally had first heard about The Cooperative, she knew she needed to be a part of it. Unfortunately, she was nowhere near powerful enough or rich enough to get a seat at that dark table. She was, however, just rich enough to buy herself and her son a spot at the Sanctuary. One of her fellow SCUM members did have an informant with the Cooperative which gave her the knowledge she needed. Once the apocalypse happened, Ally knew her main goal was to gain control of the Cooperative and the Sanctuary itself. She promised the long dead SCUM members that she would reshape the world in the feminine image. And this Sanctuary was basically what was left of civilization. Ally knew she needed to take control of the place. And, at that moment, control took the form of a single man.

Michael Langdon.

Ally spent quite a while learning about him, trying to find a potential weakness that she could exploit. Unfortunately for her, she was unable to find any weakness at all in the man for almost three years after the apocalypse. Luckily though, she remained vigilant, and her patience eventually paid off. Ally soon discovered that Michael’s weakness was a single person. The key to tearing down Michael Langdon was a beautiful, tiny redhead with heterochromia and freckles. Ally then took this knowledge and began to form a plan. She knew she had to get close to Lucy in order to take Michael down, but she had no clue how to get in with Lucy in the first place. From her observations, Lucy was rather quiet and kept to herself, preferring to spend her days drawing alone in the library. But once she learned from her close friend Ina May Gaskin that Lucy was expecting Michael’s baby, Ally knew her exact entry point and manner of attack. She knew exactly what she had to do to get where she needed to be.

This was the reason why Ally was listening intensely to Lucy’s story about how difficult it was for her and Michael to have a healthy baby.

“I must admit, it did take a few tries for me to get pregnant with Oz. However, I never had any miscarriages, but you do have my condolences.” Ally mused, resting her head on her hand as she listened.

“Thanks. You know, even though it’s been a while, each loss still stings my heart. I’m planning on telling these two about their siblings once they’re old enough so hopefully their memory will never be lost.” Lucy said with a sigh, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. She sat silently on the bench, doing her best to think and try to calm her mind, “I just can’t wait until they’re finally here.” Her hand caressed her small belly as she knew she needed to start preparing for the twins. However, because she was so early, she was still terrified of another miscarriage, despite what the spell said. Ally just reached over and patted Lucy’s shoulder before standing up and running a hand through her hair.

“Well I know for a fact that you will be a fantastic mother. I have to go pick up my son from his tutors, so I will keep in touch! It was lovely to meet you, Lucy!” Ally shook Lucy’s hand once more before leaving the garden. Lucy, meanwhile, dug her fingers in her curly hair, doing her best to process it all.

———————————————

TAGS: @wroteclassicaly@katiekitty261@thelangdoncooperative@darklangdon@langdonslacefront@michael-langdon6@slaveforlangdon@acherik @mytrash-mylife@michaellangdonhasbecomemylife@seducinganakin @whiteandblack777 @madhatterweasley @arielle90@michaels-slut @icylangdon @meeeeeeeeeps @thechurchoflangdon

@the-captain-kidd @lex-in-affex @plainsarah-jane@kellysimagines@langdonsdemon@magicpicklecorn @itschelseag@sodanova@omgimafuckingmermaid@scarletraine @dancingmad08-blog @yourkingcodyfern @langdonsrapture @xlangdons-evilbabygirlx@weareallevilmotherfuckers @ritualmichael @jea-nn-ie @labyrinth-of-thoughts @midnight-dreamingsouls @lvngdonscurse@ccodyfern@starwlkers@lvngdvns@zoebennson @sassylangdon @sojournmichael @i-dont-give-a-fucky @sweetlangdon @hisgirlwonder @softlangdvn@michaellangdom@lovelykhaleesiii @psychofern @duncvn @duncans-donuts@ave-michael@langdonbitchh @asstichrist @queencocoakimmie

#Michael Langdon #Michael Langdon X OC #Michael Langdon x Reader #Michael Langdon/OC #AHS #AHS Apocalypse #american horror story #american horror story apocalypse #ahs apocalypse fanfiction #American Horror Story Fanfiction #AHS fanfiction #Small Bump

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bakerolivias-archived · 3 years

Text

even though about me pages have generally burned me before, i’ve decided to make one anyway for the aesthetic appeal of my bio just being links lol. here’s some general info about me.

—anna —she/her —under eighteen, pls don’t be weird —bisexual —creator, graphics, moodboards, and the occasional gif —enjoys books and tv —rebekah mikaelson and (supposedly) evil female characters enthusiast —give me all the enemies to lovers, i just adore this trope so much —currently watching tvd, b99, the originals, & jane the virgin —reading list: beach read, serpent & dove

content you’ll see on this blog mostly —tvd (steroline, klaroline, forwood, elena/girls, elena/bonnie/caroline, beklena or caroline/rebekah, elejah, klaulena, beremy, klaus/bonnie, bamon, mikaelson siblings, and i am very much anti d*mon and de/ena so be warned, klaus mikaelson’s defense lawyer*) *while i do acknowledge the shitty things he has done and have no interest in woobifying him —the originals (klamille, rebekah enthusiast, rebekah/marcel, haybekah, haylijah, elijah/gia, kolvina, and klayley, as well as all the mikaelson siblings family dynamics because i am absolutely trash for this chaotic and dysfunctional family that has so much love; also yes klavina as a guilty pairing crackship but not really romo because they’re just klaulena 2.0 new orleans style okay?? *hides in the trash can*) —b99 (jake and amy, pretty much all the characters and pairings tbh) —jane the virgin (i adore petra and luisa so much and think they deserve better, i’m team petra and michael and rafael because being team one love interest is boring and jane deserves all the love and affection) —legends of tomorrow (i’m just a multishipping mess because this team is practically a polycule, but i don’t like ca/ity l/otz or ava/ance. mostly zarlie, hellstar, darhkatom, esperastra, and mixen) —f.r.i.e.n.d.s once in a blue moon —the 100 (because even though jroth and fandom turned this show into a nightmare i can’t quit, pro clexa, braven, becho, and more, but slightly bellarke and clarke critical, i adore spacekru and i stand by spacekru over c/arke always, josephine lightbourne enthusiast) —legacies (hizzie****, handon, fosie, jaleb, jed/alyssa/kaleb and not sorry about it, kaleb/cleo, cleo/landon, vehemently anti alaric, j/osie, and ho/aric, sometimes h/osie critical but i do show some appreciation for them) —lucifer (#1 mazeve stan, deckerstar isn’t a hyperfixation for me but they’re perfect for each other, i haven’t been in this fandom for a while so idk what else is really going on, and i miss charlotte richards and ella lopez) —shadow and bone (i’d choose malina over dark/ina in a heartbeat but i prefer alina & girls because zoyalina/genyalina love triangle would make for a much more interesting show, and i adore zoya and nina sfm; also the grishaverse in general) —cobra kai (sam/tory, any femslash ship on the show, tory/robby) —community (jeff + annie aren’t really my cup of tea, i prefer jeffbritta and firmly believe in trobed and trobedison)

books —the folk of the air (#1 jurdan stan, cardan’s defense lawyer) —the lunar chronicles (cresswe// critical, carswell thorne & rampion crew enthusiast, wolflet & jacinter stan) —soc duology (nothing even remotely bad to say about soc or the characters/pairings) —the hunger games (katniss, ever/ark, and ga/eniss neutral, mostly clato, odesta, and hayffie, as well as f/f pairings, career tributes and effie apologist, also katniss and gale are not white i don’t care what hollywood told you jlaw was not supposed to be able to represent the struggles lower class poc suffer through and not equipped to give a powerful performance) —the hating game (critical enthusiast, idk i just think there are better romance books but i did enjoy reading) —the unhoneymooners by christina lauren —you deserve each other by “i forgot the author lol sorry” —fan of any and all enemies to lovers books in general —anti sjm, don’t even compare jurdan anywhere near one of her romances bye —fic recs —edits —fanfiction

#aboutme**#annapersonal**

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lunaathorne · 5 years

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Hey! I saw that you included my post about Alina and the Darkling in the one you made about how ppl hating on Zoya is disappointing and I just wanted to tell you my post had absolutely nothing to do with Zoya or Nikolai! I just don’t like Mal, never liked him, and while I know the Darkling as abusive af I just didn’t want Alina and Mal to be a thing. I haven’t even read king of scars yet so I can’t say anything about Zoya and Nikolai, but all I was saying is Mal needs to go

My post was not about people hating Zoya or Zoyalai either, my post was about the glorification of the Darkling and the way fandom erases his narrative and gives him a victim arc. and in the process ends up relegating Alina to a subversive position. Where no one seems to understand she chose Mal and a normal life over drama and violence and power as Aleksander's Sun Summoner. If you see the replies you'll notice the discourse doesn't concern Zoya or Nikolai really, but I tagged my Zoyalai fam because we are on the same wavelength about Darkles and have interesting convos on his arc. The only reason I tagged it as Zoyalai was the user who had reblogged it and who had gone on a slew of Zoya hate in the cross tags. Anyway, my screencaps were meant for the other user. I have learnt not to interact with Alarkling stans.

That being said, in this ask, you explicitly tell me you know he is abusive AF and I'm assuming you have already read the original trilogy. I have little to no patience for the character of the Darkling. The fact that you want the asshole jock boy to go, but somehow want, in the same context, for the pedophilic, no-boundaries, homicidal creep to end up with the young girl is frankly frightening. But you do you, at least he is portrayed as the villain of the series. Just look at Shatter Me. Or any sjm book.

#anti darkling #anti dark*ling #anti dark*ina #answered ask #no hard feelings but i can slap the darkling till his face turns tomato red #discourse #thank you harry for the wonderful meme much appreciated

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loretranscripts · 5 years

Text

Lore Episode 16: Covered Mirrors (Transcript) - 4th October 2015

tw: murder, graphic descriptions of violence, racism, hate crimes

Disclaimer: This transcript is entirely non-profit and fan-made. All credit for this content goes to Aaron Mahnke, creator of Lore podcast. It is by a fan, for fans, and meant to make the content of the podcast more accessible to all. Also, there may be mistakes, despite rigorous re-reading on my part. Feel free to point them out, but please be nice!

Before we begin, I wanted to mention two of my upcoming live shows for October. If you’re in the Boston area, these might be something to check out. On October 11th, I’ll be in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for a 7pm show, and on the 25th, head down to New Haven, Connecticut, for a 2:30 afternoon show. You can order your tickets for one or both of the shows right now by heading over to lorepodcast.com/live, all the details are listed there. I’m looking forward to meeting you, and sharing some stories together. And now, on with the show.

I can still remember the first time I saw Nightmare on Elm Street as a child. Those tense moments in the dark, the thumping of my heart in my chest, the screams… The decades have reduced much of those memories down to simple impressions and flashes of key images, and the most important of those, of course, was the glove. Freddy Krueger’s glove was iconic, all leather and metal and fish knives – just a glimpse of it was enough to send shivers down the spines of millions, and it was one of a handful of weapons that became foundational to a new wave of horror movies that started 30 years ago. There were others, of course: the chainsaw, with its screaming motor and biting teeth filled many nightmares; the machete always takes me back to the hockey-mask-wearing Jason Voorhees of Friday the 13th. There are many stories of a killer who uses a hook, from I Know What You Did Last Summer to an early episode of Supernatural. And who could forget the wooden stake that makes an appearance in almost every vampire movie? But no tool of destruction has been more prolific, more horrific, than the axe. It’s the stuff of nightmares, equal parts passion and skill; it’s a near mythic weapon that instantly inspires fear, but a little over a century ago, those nightmares became reality. I’m Aaron Mahnke, and this is Lore.

Between January 1911 and April 1912, a killer travelled across western Louisiana and eastern Texas, and whoever they were, a trail of bodies was left on a scale beyond anything we can imagine today. They were crimes of intense passion and brutality; they were calculated and merciless; they were hate crimes to the core, focusing on victims of mixed race; and they were all committed with an axe. The first murder took place in Rayne, Louisiana in January 1911. While a young mother and her three small children were asleep in their beds, someone entered their home and brutally killed them all with an axe. Shortly after that, and just 10 miles to the west in the small town of Crowley, the killer struck again. While Walter Byers and his wife and their six-year-old son slept in their beds, their lives were ended. There was a pattern forming, something beyond the victims’ profiles and the murder weapon, but it was still too early for the authorities to notice. This was an age before the internet after all, before 24-hour news networks. Most information travelled along railroad, and took days or weeks to spread effectively, which was unfortunate, because that allowed the killer to move on and continue his work. Just a quick note: I’m just going to use the male pronouns when referring to this killer. It’s not an effort to be anti-feminist, believe me, I just have a hard time imagining a woman would brutally murder small children with an axe. If that assumption offends you, I apologise. Whoever he was, he didn’t wait long before making his next appearance. On February 23rd, 1911, someone entered the home of the Casaway family in San Antonio, Texas, and slaughtered everyone in their sleep: the husband and wife, and their three children. There were never any signs of robbery, no vandalism or other evidence of a reason for the murders. Whoever the man was, he entered each home with one horrific purpose, and then he moved on. The killer took a long break after San Antonio, but when he reappeared he was back in Louisiana. On Sunday, November 26th of 1911, in the city of Lafayette, all six members of the Randall family were butchered while they slept. The authorities said that each had been killed with a single blow to the back of the head, near the right ear, and the weapon, they claimed, was an axe.

The police arrested a woman named Clementine Barnabet, who claimed to have committed the crimes in Rayne, Crowley, and Lafayette. Her story was an odd mixture of voodoo, superstition and cult mentality, due to her involvement in something called the “Sacred Church”, but in the end, the true killer proved her innocence by continuing with his spree while she was behind bars. In January of 1912, Crowley experienced yet another tragedy at the hands of the axe-man. Marie Warner and her three children were brutally killed in their beds, following the pattern of the previous murders. Two days later, in the Louisiana town of Lake Charles, Felix Broussard and his wife and their three children became the next victims, one blow to the head for each, just behind the right ear, but this was the moment the killer went off script. He left a note – it wasn’t incredibly helpful, but it did lend a small amount of humanity to the man behind the axe. The note read: “when he maketh the inquisition for blood, he forgetteth not the cry of the humble. Human Five”. No one knew what it meant; no one does to this day, but it helped the towns along the southern Pacific railroad line understand that it wasn’t some mythological beast that was hunting them. No, the killer was a man, still a monster, but of the human variety. The death toll continued to climb: on February 19th, it was Hattie Dove and her three children in Beaumont, Texas; on March 27th, it was the Monroe family in the town of Gladden; on April 11th, the killer returned to San Antonio to take the lives of William Burton and his family; and two nights later, in Hempstead, three more lives were taken. The killer appeared one final time in August of 1912, in the home of James Dashiell in San Antonio. But something went wrong – rather than never waking up again, Mrs Dashiell opened her eyes as the killer missed his target. She screamed, and he ran, slipping away into the night. And then, as if it had been nothing more than a hot wind blowing off the gulf, everything just stopped. No more murders, no more blood, no more little coffins with no one left to weep over them. Just… gone. But there’s always another axe, there’s always another family, and there’s always another monster.

Tucked in the south-western corner of Iowa, between the middle and west branches of the Nodaway river, is the sleepy town of Villisca. In 1912, this was the sort of town where everyone knew each other, if not by name then at least by face. Local man Joe Moore had been the star salesman at a farm equipment business run by another Villisca native, Frank Jones, but had struck out on his own five years earlier, starting his own business. He and his wife, Sarah, had four children, ranging from five to 11 years of age, and all of them were well-loved around town. On the night of June 10th, the eldest daughter Katherine played host to a pair of local girls, Lena and Ina Stillinger, for what we would call a sleepover today. With the house full, the family retired to bed, and soon all eight of them were fast asleep. Just after midnight, however, a stranger lifted the latch on the Moore family’s backdoor and stepped inside. Today, we don’t think twice about locking all of our doors and windows before going to bed, but in Villisca in 1912, that would have been overkill. Crime wasn’t a problem, and everyone – well, we’ve already covered how friendly they all were. Whoever it was that entered the Moore house that night closed the door behind himself, and then quietly picked up a nearby oil lamp. This was the type of lamp with a glass chimney on top, which protected the flame from gusts of wind, but it was also prone to toppling out if the lamp was tipped too far. Breaking glass makes noise, and that’s probably why the intruder removed the chimney and set it aside. He lit the lamp and turned the flame down as low as he could - just enough light to see by, but not enough to wake anyone up. And then, moving as quietly as he could, he walked past the room where the two Stillinger girls slept and slowly climbed the narrow stairs. We know this because the town coroner did his best to later reconstruct the events of that night. We’re told that the man first slipped into the room of Joe and Sarah Moore, who lay asleep in their beds. He set down the lamp – it would only get in the way when he started to use the other item he had brought with him: an axe. He raised the weapon over his head, so hard that it scuffed the ceiling of the room, but neither of the occupants of the bed seemed to notice. He brought it down, first on Joe, and then on his wife. Two quick swings, two sickening thuds, and then it was over. He next visited the Moore children, asleep in the second upstairs bedroom. He quietly killed each of them with similar, quick blows to the head with the axe, before returning to the stairs. Back on the first floor, he entered the room where the two guests slept, and completed his macabre mission. No one awoke. No one screamed. No one was allowed a chance to warn the others, until it was all over. But there are signs that one of the Stillinger girls woke up. According to the coroner, her body showed signs of movement prior to her death. Perhaps the noises upstairs woke her, maybe her sister screamed, or some other noise disturbed her sleep, but by the time she was awake, it was too late. She quickly joined the others in their horrible fate. I wish I could say that the night’s events were over, but the intruder – the killer, now – wasn’t finished. After killing all eight of the people inside the house, he returned upstairs and systematically brutalised their remains with his axe. There are details I won’t record, details most of us can do without, no matter how strong some of our stomachs might be, but it’s estimated that the killer stuck Joe Moore’s face at least 30 times before moving on to his wife. I think that gives you an idea. When he was done with his work, the man covered each of the faces of the victims – all eight victims, shrouded in clothing and bedsheets – and then he moved on to the mirrors in the house, draping each one in turn with more cloth. Every reflective surface, every place where it might be possible to see eyes staring back at himself, he carefully and deliberately covered each of them. They think the killer stayed in the house for a while after he was done. He had taken a bowl and filled it with water, where it appears he washed his blood-soaked hands, and a little before 5am, the man picked up the house keys of the Moore’s, turned off the lamp, locked the doors and then vanished into the red morning sky.

As it goes with so many small-town tragedies, the people of Villisca quickly went in search of someone to blame for the murders. One of the first suspects to be considered was Iowa senator Frank Jones. If you remember, Jones had been Joe Moore’s boss at the farm equipment business just a few years before. When he left to strike out on his own, though, Moore had taken one of the most lucrative clients with him, a company called John Deere. There was no love between these two men, in fact they used to cross over to the opposite side of the street to avoid passing one another on the sidewalk. There was also a rumour that Joe Moore had been having an affair with Frank’s daughter. The theory, around town at least, was that Frank hired a killer to get rid of Moore. He was never formally charged with the murders, but the news coverage ruined his political career forever. Another suspect was local man Lyn George Kelly. Aside from being the town’s Presbyterian minister, he was also known as a sexual deviant with mental problems. This is a guy who had placed an ad in the local newspaper looking for a receptionist, and when women responded, he would instruct them that they would be required to type in the nude – super nice guy, if by nice, you mean crazy. But crazy or not, he quickly admitted to the murders and to leaving town on a train the morning of their discovery. He was also left-handed, something the coroner had determined was characteristic of the killer - but there were some problems too. Kelly was 5’2”, and weighed a little over 100lbs soaking wet, not the beast people would have expected to find swinging an axe in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, Kelly later recanted his confession and complained about police brutality. One final suspect was William Mansfield. It was believed by some that Frank Jones had hired Mansfield to do the killing, while others just believed that the man worked alone. Mansfield had a criminal record, and at one point one of the detective agencies hired to investigate the murders claimed that he was even a cocaine addict. No one liked Mansfield, and it seemed like he was really the guy. Mansfield had been suspected in two other murders prior to Villisca, which didn’t help his case – one in Kansas, and happened just four days before, and another in Aurora, Illinois. The locations of both of those murders were easily accessible by train, and both had been committed with an axe. That’s not all. Each of those previous murder scenes were eerily similar to Villisca. In both homes, investigators found a lamp burning at the foot of the bed, glass chimney missing. Mirrors in both homes had been covered, and bowls of water used to wash bloody hands were found near the kitchen. No prints were found, though, suggesting a killer who was worried about being identified by prison records, something Mansfield would have understood. In the end, however, Mansfield was able to provide an alibi. His name was apparently on the payroll records for a business several hundred miles away, making it difficult to believe that he could have travelled to Villisca to swing the axe. Someone did, though, which means the killer got away – caught a train, skipped town, and landed somewhere else. Who knows where that train might have taken him.

The axe is about as iconic as it gets. Some of the oldest manmade tools that scientists have discovered are hand-axes, suggesting that their form and function is somehow part of our subconscious. They fit our needs, and perhaps they fit our nature as well. In Villisca, like countless communities around the world at the turn of the last century, the axe was about as commonplace as the hand-pumped well, or the wooden outhouse. Everyone had one, and everyone took them for granted. It was incredibly common to see them laying on a person’s porch or protruding from a large piece of firewood in the yard, which means that there never would have been a need for the Villisca axe murderer to carry his weapon with him. It was a weapon of convenience, it was the easy and logical choice – the perfect tool for the perfect crime. As a result, our scary stories are full of these brutally sharp, iconic weapons. Their vicious arc is the stuff of nightmares, and for the Moore family, those nightmares became real. We encounter William Mansfield one more time in the historical records. Shortly after his trial and release, a man named R. H. Thorpe from nearby Shenandoah, came forward with a story. According to him, he saw a man fitting Mansfield’s description board a train the morning of the murders, within walking distance of town. Maybe it was someone else, maybe it was Mansfield himself, caught in his own lie. There’s no record that the authorities followed up on this lead, but other things followed him in the years to come. In June of 1914, two full years after the events in Villisca, Mansfield was arrested one more time, this time in Kansas City. The reason: his former wife, along with her parents and her infant child, had been found dead in their home, in Blue Island, Illinois. According to the authorities, they had been brutally murdered in their sleep. The killer had used an axe.

This episode of Lore was produced by me, Aaron Mahnke. You can learn more about me and this show over at lorepodcast.com, and be sure to follow along on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, @lorepodcast. This episode of Lore was made possible by you, the sharpest listeners in the shed, [Insert ad break]. And finally, a reminder that you are my hero, each and every one of you. Your reviews on iTunes, your tweets to friends, your likes on Facebook, all of it works together like a well-honed axe to cut through the clutter, and help this show grow. If you feel like pitching in, just visit lorepodcast.com/support, where you can find links to all sorts of ways to help this show out. There’s always room for you on the team. And as always, thanks for listening.

#lore podcast #podcasts #aaron mahnke #villisca axe murders #serial killer #true crime #iowa #louisiana #texas #transcripts #16

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a-lame-constellation · 7 years

Text

Korean MVs that came out in 2017

~Since i’m not into most kpop groups i might forget to write a comeback so feel free to tell me some that i haven’t written yet or if i have done a mistake.~

*The songs are not in order

**I’ve already made a 2016 list (and i’m making a 2018)

January:

AOA - Excuse Me

AOA - Bing Bing

Bae Da Hae - Knock Knock Knock

S.E.S. - Paradise

AKMU - Last Goodbye

INA - Rainbow

April - April Story

WJSN - I Wish

Davii - Navigation (ft. Heize)

Jun.K - Your Wedding

Minje - Our City

TopSecret - She

Varsity - U R My Only One

Mixx - Love Is a Sudden

NCT127 - Limitless

Vromance - I’m Fine

Day6 - I Wait

Ravi - Bomb (ft. SanE)

Sonamoo - I Think I Love U

Young Cream - 042

Shinhwa 13th - Touch

TRAX [STATION] - Road

Soulights - Crush

EVE - Candle

Jun.K - No Shadow

I - I Wish

Hello Venus - Mysterious

Dreamcatcher - Chase Me

Choi ye_guen Band - Adult

Rain - The Best Present

Niel - Love Affair

CLC - Hobgoblin

Seohyun - Don’t Say No

Zizo - Dynamite Girl

LOOΠΔ(Loona)/YeoJin - Kiss Later

LOOΠΔ(Loona)/Heejin, Hyunjin - My Sunday

LOOΠΔ(Loona)/Heaseul, Yeojin - My Melody

Yoon Do Hyun [STATION] - Sparks Fly

Kasper - Lean On Me

I.O.I - Downpour

40, Dasom - You&I

Park Kyung - When I’m With You (ft. BrotherSu)

Kang Sira - Don’t Wanna Forget

Jooheon - Rhythm

Luna, Hani, Solar - Honey Bee

Joo Chan, So Yoon - No One Like You

2NE1 - Goodbye

Gain, Jeff Bernat - Play

Pentagon - Pretty pretty

Yesung, Selgi [STATION] - Darling U

Jessi - Don’t Make Me Cry

San E - I Am Me (ft. Hwasa)

A.Leean - Fall Back

Suzy - Yes No Maybe

Dynamic Duo, Chen - Nosedive

Sam Kim, Loco - Think About’ Chu

MelodyDay - You Seem Busy

Ryan - Don’t Tell Me Why (ft.Addy)

Kassy - Dream

Masta Wu - Shit (ft. Dok2)

Crybaby - Paramount (ft. TakeOne)

Cheetah - Blurred Lines (ft Hanhae)

Gallant, Tablo, Eric Nam - Cave Me In

Kebee - My Foreigner (ft. BrotherSu)

Ji Hoon Shin - You Are A Star Already

HuhGak - Miss You

Zion.T - The Song

Red Velvet - Rookie

Crown J - Hajima

Lydia Lee - Blue

February:

Imfact - In The Club

Suho, Song YoungJoo [STATION] - Curtain

Masc - Tina

Block B - Yesterday

SF9 - Roar

Day6 - You Were Beautiful

Jung Joon Young - Me and You (ft. Jang Hyejin)

Rhythm Power - Bangsaneung

Cross Gene - Black or White

San E - Counselor

1NB - Stalker

NCT Dream - My First and Last

SunnyHill - Crossroads

B.I.G - 1.2.3

Bts - Spring Day

Bts - Not Today

SBGB - Card Captor Sakura

J’Kyun - Soaking (ft. Cherry Coke)

Jang Joon, Young Taek - Drought (ft. BéE)

Soyou, Baekhyun - Rain

BeautyHandsome - This Game

Skull - Crazy (ft. Verbaljint, KittiB)

Moon Kim - Dark Chocolate

BiPA - Coffee Shop Oppa

MelodyDay - Kiss On The Lips

K.a.r.d - Don’t Recall

Kim Jinho - Graduation Picture

Scarlet mojo-Pin - Ez come Ez go (Gorilla-Man)

Eden - I’m Still (ft. Kwon Jina)

Dean - Beyond (ft. Yerin Baek)

VAV - Venus (Dance With Me)

Taeyeon - I Got Love

Taeyeon - Fine

Twice - Knock Knock

100% - Sketch U

Cheeze - Love You

Solar - Happy People

Soma - Midnight In Paris

Soma - Pale Blue

HeeJun Han - Think of You

San E - What If

Junggigo, Chanyeol - Let Me Love You

Subin - Strawberry

Subin - Circle’s Dream

High4 - Love Line

gugudan - A Girl Like Me

Lovelyz - WoW!

Park Won, Suzy - Don’t Wait For Your Love

Ailee - Reminiscing

Penomeco - WTF (Went Too Far)

Code Kunst - Fire Water (ft. G.Soul, Tablo)

Most Badass Asian - MBA

Most Badass Asian - Joker

Most Badass Asian - Thursday Party (ft. Big One)

Most Badass Asian - Turn Off The Radio (Taxi Driver)

Beatwin - Don’t Leave

March:

Ovan - Virgin Love

Live - Known Me (ft. Dean)

Live - Please (ft. Kim Hyo Eun, G2, Dumbfoundead)

Victon - Eyez Eyez

Ovan - Girl You Deserve It

Kim Ji Soo - Dream All Day

Blanc7 - Yeah

GFriend - Fingertip

BtoB - Movie

Day6 - How Can I Say

Rare Potato - Starlit Night

B.A.P - Wake Me Up

LambC - Love Like That

Romeo - Without U

Jung Key - Anymore (ft. Whee In)

Eric Nam x Somi - You, Who?

Brave Girls - Rollin’

Highlight - It’s Still Beautiful

Highlight - Plz Don’t Be Sad

Got7 - Never Ever

Dorothy Scene - We Are Just..

Cherry Coke - Like I Do

Jung Joonil - Wish

MVP - Take It

Oohyo - Pizza

Cao Lu, Kisum, Yerin - Spring Again

Mad Clown - Love Is A Dog From Hell (ft. Suran)

Seven O’Clock [SOC] - Echo

Hwanhee - So It Is

Yang Hee Eun x AKMU - The Tree

Cnblue - Between Us

Monsta X - Beautiful

Pristin - Wee Woo

IU - Through the Night

BigFlo - Stardom

DJ Juice - BEATful Life (ft. Verbal Jint, Nuck)

J-Min - Alive

Lee Sun Jung Band - Because of Love

Pretty Brown - Grey (ft. Verbal Jint)

Sanchez - 5 More Minutes (ft. Beenzino)

Moon Hyuna - Cricket Song

Roydo - Rewind

Lucy - B-day

Eyedi - Best Mistake (K)

Ofa - To You For You

X.Q - Long Time

Girl’s Day - I’ll Be Yours

Seo In Guk - Better Together

D.G.N.A - Lucky Man

Owol - Nuna (ft. Microdot)

Jero - Delusional

Red Velvet [STATION] - Would You

Seventeen - Smile Flower

I’M - Save Me

OFA - Somebody

OFA - Grow Old

JK Kim Dong Uk - Universe

April:

DPR Live - Cheese & Wine

Oh My Girl - Coloring Book

Winner - Really Really

Winner - Fool

INX - 2Gether

Dreamcatcher - Good Night

Imfact - Tension Up

Taeyeon - Make Me Love You

SBGB - Ki-dult

Corona - Holding Your Hand

Hong Dae Kwang - Fall In Love

Gaeko - Gajah (ft. Rap Monster)

Day6 - I’m Serious

Okdal - Love Advice

Okdal - Intern

Ten [STATION] - Dream In A Dream

Baekhyun [STATION] - Take You Home

Jenyer, Samuel Seo - Cliché

Jeong EunJi - The Spring (ft. Hareem)

EXID - Night Rather Than Day

MiSO - KKPP

Teen Top - Love Is

Lee Hae Ri - Pattern

Lee Hae Ri - Hate That I Miss You

Unit Black - Steal Your Heart

BLACK6IX - Please

Kim Na Young - Being An Adult

Zico - She’s a Baby

Daze - Friday

Berry Good - BibbidiBobbidiBoo

Apink - Always

Kisum - Sleep Tight (ft. Gilgubonggu)

DIA - Will You Go Out With Me

Yesung - Paper Umbrella

DinDin - Super Super Lonely

Hyolyn, Changmo - Blue Moon

Minzy - NiNaNo (ft. Flowsik)

Baek Ji Woong - Your Day

SF9 - Easy Love

Laboum - Hwi Hwi

Chung Ha - Week

IU - Palette (ft. G-Dragon)

Junggigo - Across The Universe

Hyukoh - Leather Jacket

Hyukoh - Tomboy

Hyukoh - Wanli

IU - Ending Scene

K.A.R.D - Rumor

14U - Very Very Very

Varsity - Hole In One

OLNL - OYeah

Reddy - Supreme

Jonghyun - Lonely (ft. Taeyeon)

Stella Jang - Vanishing Paycheck

Triple H - 365 Fresh

Jah Vinci Skull, C Jamm, Jah Vinci - Killa Dreads

Boi B - ADY (ft. Sik-K)

Sugarbowl - Second Date

Knowing Bros - Theme song

May:

Yong Jun Hyung - Wonder If (ft. Heize)

Lovelyz - Now, We

G.Urban - I’ll give it to you

VAV - Flower (You)

JeA - You’re Different (ft. Ra.D)

Ludonph Yongjunko - Tell Me It’s Okay (ft. Luna)

Busters - Dreamer

Day6 - Dance Dance

Romeo - Stay With Me

Psy - I Luv It

Psy - New Face

Twice - Signal

Vixx - Shangri-La

Unnies - Right?

Honeyst - Like You

Urban Zakapa - Alone

Sohee - Spotlight

B.I.G - Hello Hello

IKON - Bling Bling

IKON - B-Day

Roy Kim - Egoist

Roy Kim - Suddenly

Cheeze - Be There

Dean - Love (ft. Syd)

Loco - Movie Shoot (ft. DPR Live)

Loco - Too Much (ft.Dean)

Seventeen - Don’t Wanna Cry

Dear Cloud - Silver Lining

Map6 - I’m Ready

A.C.E - Cactus

Yezi - Anck Su Namun

Yong Yong - Scribbling

KNK - Sun, Moon, Star

Kriesha Chu - Trouble

Yoo Yong Min - Nobody Knows

Goretexx, Black Nut, Han Yo Han - Silky Boys

South Club - Hug Me

Marmello - Puppet

MeiMei Jane - Forever

Shin Hyun Woo - So Amazing

LOOΠΔ(Loona)/Eclipse

Joo - Late in the Morning

Kyuhyun - Goodbye For Now

24K - Only You

Most Badass Asian - Officer

Highlight - Calling You

Sistar - Lonely

Astro - Baby

The Black Skirts - Who Do You Love

Baek A Yeon - Sweet Lies (ft. The Barberettes)

Still PM - True

June:

Elris - We, First

Suran - 1+1=0 (ft. Dean)

S.E.T - Nalari

TopSecret - Mind Control

Gummy - I I Yo

Chung Ha - Why Don’t You Know (ft. Nucksal)

Ft.Island - Wind

Day6 - I Smile

WJSN - Happy

G-Dragon - Untitled, 2014

Eddy Kim - Heart Pound

Pentagon - Critical Beauty

NCT 127 - Cherry Bomb

Vermuda - Dream Girl

Monsta X - Shine Forever

Mamamoo - Yes I Am

Mamamoo - Age Gag

BlackPink - As If It’s Your Last

South Club - Dirty House

South Club - I Got The Blues

South Club - Liar

Henry - I’m Good (ft. Nafla)

Ahn Jung Jae - You’re Fine

Apink - Five

Heize - Don’t Know You

Heize - You, Clouds, Rain (ft. Shin Yong Jae)

LOONA/JinSoul - Singing in the Rain

BoA - Camo

Lee Hyuri - Seoul (ft. Killagramz)

Crush - Summer Love

July:

The Barbarettes - Summer Love

Favorite - Party Time

Bang Yongguk - Yamazaki

Min Chae - Latata

VAV - ABC (Middle of the Night)

Lee Hyori - Black

Hyolyn, Kisum - Fruity

Crush - Outside (ft. Beenzino)

Day6 - Hi Hello

Take - Good Enough

Yu Seungwoo, Sandeul - Oppa

Red Velvet - Red Flavor

South Club - No

Millic - Paradise (ft. Fanxy Child)

One - Heyahe

One - Gettin’ By

Urban Zakapa - Moai

Xiumin x Mark [STATION] - Young & Free

Zico - Artist

Zico - Anti (ft. G.Soul)

Jessi - Gucci

Mind U - Love Me

Park Boram - Why, You? (ft. Seo Samuel)

Voisper - Crush On You

Hotshot - Jelly

WJSN (Cosmic Girls) - Kiss Me

Exo - Ko Ko Bop

Geeks - Woo

Psy - Love (ft. Taeyang)

KNK - Rain

Kard - Hola Hola

Jung Yong Hwa - That Girl (ft. Loco)

The Night Of Seokyo - Walking in the Moonlight )ft. Dawon, Lasier)

AKMU - Dinosaur

offonoff - gold (ft Dean)

Luda - I Will Give You All I Got

Dreamcatcher - Fly High

Monsta X - Newton

LOONA/Choerry - Love Cherry Motion

JJ Project - Tomorrow, Today

Longguo & Shihyun - the.the.the

9Muses - Remember

August:

Winner - Island

Winner - Love Me Love Me

GFriend - Love Whisper

Girl’s Generation - Holiday

Girl’s Generation - All Night (Documentary Ver.)

Yoo YoungJin x Taeyong [STATION] - Cure

Samuel - Sixteen (ft. Changmo)

Eddy Kim - Now

ONF - ON/OFF

CLC - Where are you?

The Rose - Sorry

Juniel - Last Carnival

Groovyroom - Sunday (ft. Heize, Jay Park)

Raina - Loop (ft. Aron of Nu’est)

N.Flying - The Real

Drug Restaurant - Drink O2 in the water

Primary - ~42 (ft. Sam Kim , eSNa)

Day6 - What Can I Do

Boyfriend - Star

WannaOne - Energetic

Weki Meki - I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend

Pristin - We Like

Momoland - Freeze

Oguogu - Ice Chu

Sunmi - Gashina

Heize - In The Time Spent With You

Hur Young Ji - Memory Clock

Hoody - Hangang

Kassy - Let It Rain

Victon - Unbelievable

Yu Seungwoo, Younha - Can’t Stop This Feeling

Jisook - Ilhoon - Baesisi

Aleph - Fall in Love Again

S2 - Honeya

Lee Seung Hwan - God Of Money

VIXX LR - Whisper

10cm - Help

HyunA - Babe

Jackson Wang - Papillon

Good Day - Rolly

S.I.S - I’ve Got A Feeling

Rolling Paper - Polaroid (ft. DalShabet’s Serri)

Jeong Sewoon, Sik-K - Just U

IZ - All You Want

Henry - That One

Babylon - Lalala

GreatGuys - Last Men

Golden Child - DamDaDi

Sanchez - Mesmerised (ft. Yong Jun Hyung)

Primary - Right (ft. Soyou)

Primary - Diet (ft.Solji)

Primary - Hello (ft.Lena Park)

Primary - Hush (ft. Jaebum)

9Muses - Love City

September:

10cm - Phonecert

Junho - Fine

Pentagon - When I Was In Love

Exo - Power

B.A.P - Honeymoon

Lee Gikwang - What You Like

Black6IX - Like A Flower

Day6 - I Loved You

Pentagon - Like This

Soyou - The Blue Night of Jeju Island

Yonko - Butterfly (Black Ver.)

San E, Penomeco, Microdot, Kebee - Fresh Up

Jeong Eun Ji - Manito

Elris - Pow Pow

Bobby - I Love You

Bobby - Runaway

Bts - DNA

IU- Last Night Story

B1A4 - Rollin’

P.O - MEN’z NIGHT (ft. Chancellor)

Day6 - When You Love Someone

U-Know [STATION] - Drop

K.will - Nonfiction

Seventeen (SVT Leaders) - Change Up

LOONA/Odd Eye Circle - Girl Front

Bolbbalgan4 - Some

Βolbbalgan4 - Blue

Bolbbalgan4 - Imagine

Bolbbalgan4 - Fix Me

Yoona [STATION] - When The Wind Blows

Koh Nayoung - Stars

Sugarbowl - A Very Special One

20 Years of Age - Not Him

October:

Stray Kids - Hellevator

TRCNG - Spectrum

Hash Tag - Hue

Got7 - You Are

Nu’est W - Where You At

Basement Claxxic - Always on my Mind

Davichi - To Me

Jang Wooyoung - Still Me

SF9 - O Sole Mio

Rainz - Juliette

Woo Seok - Lift off (ft. E’Dawn)

Varsity - Can You Come Out Now?

Up10tion - Going Crazy

Masc - Do It

Yu Seungwoo - Tonight

Paul Kim - Stranger

Mate - A Day

Mate - Baby

Dpr Live - Jasmine

Hi Cutie - Play U

HA:TFELT - I Wander (ft. Gaeko)

HA:TFELT - Read Me (ft. Punchnello)

Highlight - Can Be Better

Taemin - Move

BtoB - Missing You

Jung Jin Hyeong - Tru (ft. Sik-k)

A.c.e - Callin’

JBJ - Fantasy

Killagramz - Coloring (ft. Hash Swan)

Seventeen [Vocal Team]

Jimin (AOA) - Hallelujah

Playback - Want You To Say

Super Junior - One More Chance

Twice - Likey

The Rose - Like We Used To

Juniel - I Drink Alone

Epik High - Home Is Far Away + Love Story

November:

Astro - Crazy Sexy Cool

Nick&Sammy - Without You

Jinbo - My Love By My Side (ft. Chancellor)

Super Junior - Black Suit

Byul - Leaves (ft. Junoflo)

Minah - 11°

Mind U - If

Jeon Soyeon - Jelly

Seventeen - Clap

VAV - She’s Mine

Eddy Kim - Bet On Me

Yiruma - F r a m e d

Sonamoo - I (Knew it)

Day6 - All Alone

Nieah - Baby I

Hyeongseop X Euiwoong - It Will Be Good

Sole - Ride (ft. Thama)

Martin Smith - Season Comes Again

Park Jimin - Say I Love You

Block B - Shall We Dance

Monsta X - DramaRama

Exid - DDD

Hwang Chi Yeul - Rewind

Rothy - Stars

Victon - Remember Me

Urban Zakapa - When We Were Two

Swings - Clock Out (ft. Jay Park, Crush)

WannaOne - Beautiful

Samuel - Candy

Kard - You In Me

Kiggen - Cloudy (ft. Solar)

Soma - In My Phone

Soma - Someday + Face Me

Pentagon - Violet

Pentagon - Runaway

Red Velvet - Peek-A-Boo

Joonil Jung - I Like

George - Boat

Jackson Wang - Okay

Soyou, Sung Si Kyung - I Still

No.11 - B1 (ft. Sung Joo of Uniq)

E Z Hyung - I Feel Good

Lee Ha Rin - A Strange Day

Fly To The Sky - Your Season

Kim Dong Wan - Afterimage

Map6 - Love Is Gone

Nell, Groovyroom - Today

UV - Za Bro (ft. Choiza)

HuhGak - Only You

Kream - Photograph

Zion.T - Nu DAY

Drug Restaurant - Catwoman

gugudan - Chococo

Jeebanoff - Timid (ft. Changmo)

December:

HyunA - Lip & Hip

Han Dong Geun - Undoable

Kisses - Dead-End

Day6 - I Like You

Kard - Trust Me

Zion.T - Snow

The Boyz - Boy

Dpr Live - Martini Blue

Dpr Live - Text Me

Taemin - Day and Night

K.Will, Soyou, Boyfriend, Mad Clown, Monsta X, Wjsn, Junggigo, Brothersu, Jeong Sewoon, Lee Kwanghyun, Yu Seungwoo, Mind U, #Gun, Duetto- Christmas Day

B.A.P - Hands Up

Soyou - The Night (ft. Geeks)

Car, the garden - Island (ft. OhHyuk)

Taeyeon - This Christmas

Twice - Heart Shaker

Twice - Merry & Happy

Laysha - Pink Label

Crush - Be By My Side

Exo - Universe

Loona/Chuu - Heart Attack

Lay - Goodbye Christmas

Eric Nam - Hold Me

Younha - Parade

Sunwoo Jung A - C A T (ft. IU)

Yang Da Il - Lie

Osshun Gum - Life’s a Dream

Kim Na Young - Miss U

1K notes · View notes

dailyhealthynews · 3 years

Text

We need healthy habits to live meaningfully and purposefully

Sea Princess, Leica Carpo, Ben Romualdez, Sandy and Philip Romualdez and Nico Romualdez

Happy Father’s Day to all the incredible fathers of this world!

Fathers play a vital role in shaping our children’s views of men and the role men play in our lives. Children’s relationship with their father is usually the very first connection they make with a man, and that foundation changes their outlook on future relationships.

Being a good parent takes more than just having a child. It takes real dedication to show up, love unconditionally, and put your child’s needs above your own.

In order to be committed to the mental and emotional well-being of the child, parents must also look after their own health. We cannot offer our children what we do not cultivate in ourselves.

For the past few weeks I’ve been focusing on my own mental and emotional growth. Constantly indulging in the superficial and materialistic facade of social media can be an obstacle to processing the real depths of our feelings. It can be easy to ignore how we really feel inside when we lose ourselves scrolling endlessly through the highlights of other people’s lives. After slowly reconnecting and engaging with my inner well-being, I realized that we cannot be fully healed unless we are whole physically and emotionally.

Self-care is a conscious balance between listening to what your body, mind, and spirit need. We must strive to maintain healthy habits in order to live meaningfully and purposefully. After researching various ways to care for myself through self-help books, therapy sessions, and online podcasts, I now devote my time to anti-aging programs, online exercise classes, and shopping for exercise equipment.

Paolo and Ria Prieto and the boys Baltazar, Benito and Dimitri

Healthy aging

There are many ways to healthy aging. Proper diet and other lifestyle factors play important roles in adding years to your life and life to your years.

When I was younger I thought 50-year-olds were near the end of their lives. Now that I’ve got this midlife brand behind me, I have a completely different mindset and perspective on getting old. I’ve realigned my priorities to extend the number of years I can live free from the ailments associated with aging – from unwanted wrinkles, memory loss, and creaky joints to a weakened immune system and more!

In order to defy the effects of aging without going under the knife, I have found some helpful tips to “feed” the brain, “eat” for beautiful skin and “sleep” for regeneration. Staying fit in old age is an important aspect of longevity.

Diet and exercise are important preventive measures to slow the onset of age-related cognitive decline. The brain needs healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids in order for our brain cells to function. Oily fish, like mackerel, can help stave off the deterioration in our minds. Nutrient-rich salmon is also a popular source of omega-3 fatty acids and also contains high levels of vitamins D and B. For vegetarians, omega-3 fatty acids are also found in chia seeds, walnuts and extra virgin olive oil.

Plant-based foods are linked with higher levels of nutrients that benefit the brain. Red, blue, and purple berries can also help protect brain cells from aging. After learning that you can “feed” your brain to stay sharp, I realized that my daughter Jordan Prieto-Valdes’ vegan lifestyle may have made her an even more brilliant writer and artist. She edited my weekly columns and made good use of her magna cum laude screenwriting degree from Chapman University!

The longer you practice maintaining a healthy lifestyle, the more long-term benefits you will have. It’s about finding the right habits that make you feel good. I was happy to read that wine is actually on the “good for the brain” list. Sometimes we drink enough wine to say smart things, but we end up doing stupid deeds. So remember: moderation is key.

Joaquin Puyat, Julian and Clara Parado with baby Alina, Cri-Cri and Toto Puyat

Well-fed cells

Living health starts with well-nourished cells. Since eating right all the time can be challenging, it is important to take supplements to provide us with the right nutrients.

Usana CellSentials are so much more than your average multivitamins. Each daily dose provides essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and additional key nutrients. Made with Usana’s patented Usana InCelligence technology, the exclusive InCelligence Complex goes beyond just nourishing the body. It also helps activate your body’s natural ability to respond to stress and keep your cells healthy.

In addition, Usana BiOmega contains omega-3 fatty acids, the fatty acids that keep you healthy in old age.

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that must be obtained through food because your body cannot make it naturally. As a source of vitamin C, Usana Poly C offers a number of important benefits such as antioxidant activity that neutralizes free radical damage to help maintain cell health.

Regular exercise could both reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in healthy adults and increase cognitive performance in people with little memory loss.

For timelessly beautiful skin, there are many beauty products that help reduce all unwanted lines and age spots. Eating a nutritious diet that includes antioxidant foods will also help keep skin clear. The antioxidant vitamin E helps against wrinkles; some good sources are almonds, spinach, and sunflower seeds.

If you want to have beautiful skin, what you eat is important. To reduce age lines and inflammation, as well as increase collagen and moisture for healthy skin, add foods that contain vitamin C, lipoic acid, collagen, ellagic acid (helps prevent wrinkles), and omega-3 fatty acids. You can find these nutrients naturally in watermelon, bone broth, coffee, salmon, and dark chocolate. Probiotics can also prevent skin damage.

For the fathers out there who are grandfathers or even great grandfathers now, I wish you a very special Father’s Day as you enjoy a day of blessings you deserve. May the Lord shower you with healthy, strong years of fulfilling joys and relaxing times. Take the time to take care of yourself so that you can take care of your loved ones even more! INQ

Follow @ seaprincess888 on Instagram

Shane and Ed Miguel, Joan and Nath Sunio, Cherry Ampig, Billy dela Fuente, Duday Gasto, Ranell and Jonalyn Blanco, Daisy and Rommel Balaguer

Standing: Pelos Remollo, Ina Ongsiako with Miya Crisostomo, Marto Ongsiako, Berna Dy, Brazille Pango with Julio Pango, Paolo Ongsiako with Theo Labuguen, Patricia Crisostomo, Bindoy Crisostomo. Seats: Ramon Miguel Ongsiako, Jojo Ongsiako, Mica Ongsiako

Kristian, Kerry, Kody, Kaye, Freddie and Kylie Tiñga

Fern, Natalia and Junie Peña

Miguel, Mio, Yvette and Marty Ilagan

Fritz Gaston and Usana Regional Vice President of Asia Duday Gaston

source https://dailyhealthynews.ca/we-need-healthy-habits-to-live-meaningfully-and-purposefully/

0 notes

lady-inahime · 5 years

Text

Book - The Princess and the Shadow

Chapter 1: Contract with Shadow

It was autumn, the Okazaki's castle was surrounded by trees and many of these trees now had their red and yellow leaves, sometimes even oranges. They fell with the gentle breeze, so soft that sometimes it was only perceived with a soft touch on their faces.

It was a beautiful view of the castle on the right side of the bridge, the trees circling the castle. The courtyard was agitated, some soldiers were talking, some maids ran with basins in their hands. It seemed to be a typical normal day in that castle, but not so much, there was a murmur that Ieyasu Tokugawa, the lord of that castle was hiring someone.

One person heard the murmurs, Inahime. Inahime, was a young onna bugeisha, a samurai woman, trained with the code bushido since her five years of age, by her biological father, the great and powerful Tadakatsu Honda. Very skillful and of great intelligence, Ieyasu Tokugawa began to take care of her and decided to adopt her as a daughter. Ina, more than honored, accepted. Her real father was still alive at the time, and he was very proud that his lord wanted to adopt his daughter.

The Honda's clan has always been a very respected clan in Japan, of noble family and with important ancestors who served directly as adviser to the Emperor, Ieyasu saw in Ina a great opportunity for her, adopting a Honda gave him more status and also the right about her, like her other daughters, about choosing whom to marry or not.

But over the years he became more and more affectionate to Ina, gaining his affection and fondness. Ieyasu and Ina have a good relationship, truly as father and daughter. And she has been a good retainer for him, even though she was still very young, she knew how to listen and advise when he needed an opinion about his future deeds.

That day, Inahime was in a corner of the courtyard, behind the castle, where there was a training camp where she was training with her bow. She was skilled with some weapons, such as katana and naginata, but the bow was her passion and she a master, rarely lost a shot. She heard a close murmur. Two soldiers talking about a mysterious figure who had entered Ieyasu's room. How could she not see it?

Ina listened intently, they talked about a possible hiring. So he must be a soldier or ... Her mind stopped for a moment, the bow in her hand, the arrow attached to the bow. Her eyes fixed on the men whispering in the background. He could be a shinobi. But who would he be?

Ieyasu had many shinobi working for him, including a cousin who had trained the arts of ninjutsu and kenjutsu, Itakura Shigemune, who is one of the people Ieyasu trusts and admires most. Ina had grown up with him in the castle. Shigemune became Ieyasu's page when he was 14 and she 12, little older than Ina, grew up with her and sometimes trained together.

Now he needed another shinobi? Why that? Her mind was filled with ideas about it, curiosity growing stronger. Did he want another bodyguard? Oh maybe, after all Momochi Sandayu, who was his bodyguard, became her brother's shinobi, Hidetada.

She quickly placed the arrow in the quiver on her back and propped her bow on the wooden stand made for it. She took out the quiver and placed it beside it and looked toward the castle. With her bright and determined violet eyes she decided to find out who the mysterious man was and what her father wanted with him.

The quick, but elegant strides, Ina headed toward the castle, beautiful, was considered one of the most beautiful women in Japan, although so young, but even though she was young, she was experienced in battles and was already a young woman.

Her black hair was a contrast to her pale skin. Her violet eyes were very rare and somehow always drew everyone's attention around her. She had admirable qualities, which the Tokugawa's warriors admired, if she were his real daughter, she might have a chance to be his successor, since she had the charisma and strength the warriors needed.

That morning, Inahime was wearing a white kimono, her hakama was navy blue. She liked discreet colors, though Ieyasu sometimes gave her a kimono of colors that she only wore at his insistence, such as red or pink. And her long black hair was trapped in a ponytail.

She wore hakana sleeves with obishime, a kind of rope to keep her sleeves from clinging to the bowstring. On her right breast was a protection secured over the shoulder and side of the body, which served to protect her breast against the bow string.

Her curiosity was so great that she quickly reached the castle she passed many familiar faces, greeting everyone, warriors, maids, soldiers, samurai, some nobles, all of Ieyasu Tokugawa's court. She left her sandals at the entrance to the castle, and climbed the small staircase with three steps, and quickly entered the castle.

She walked to her father's meeting room as quietly as possible. Her feet slid smoothly to the door of her father's boardroom and stood by the door to try to listen to the conversation. She was quiet, silent, but she was so anxious to know who it was that she could hear the beating of her own heart. But to her surprise a silence reigned as she arrived. She blinked a few times and then glanced toward the door. Why the silence?

Suddenly the shoji doors opened and she widened her eyes in alarm. There was a man wearing black clothes there. Yes, judging by his clothes he was a shinobi. She saw that he used a hakama differently, attached to the knee and wore tabi. His kimono was fastened at the elbow, and he wore a kind of glove that covered every anti-arm and was only attached to the middle finger. She had never seen that man before. For a moment her heart seemed to have stopped beating. Who was he?

He had black hair and blue eyes. His countenance was serious, perhaps cold a little, but there was more than that, there was mystery. She had seen eyes like this before, in Momochi, perhaps a characteristic of the shinobi, serious, cold and mysterious.

That man looked at Ina, as if studying who she was, judging by the clothes he discarded the idea that she was a maid. She had a noble behavior, perhaps a noblewoman who lived in the castle as an Ieyasu's host.

He turned and when he closed the door, Ina held it and looked inside, then bowed to Ieyasu apologetically and smiled at him.

"I'm sorry my father made me uncomfortable, I came because I learned that I was with a guest, I thought I'd know who it was."

She glanced at the man at the door, but her expression changed from soft and gentle to serious. He was definitely a shinobi. What did her father want with one more shinobi working for him? Increase his information network?

"Come on Ina, you can be part of this conversation now."

Ieyasu waved the young woman into the room. He was sitting on a blue cushion with a wooden backrest for his arm. Before him, on the tatami was a bottle of sake and two glasses.

Ieyasu smiled at his daughter. He was a short man, a little overweight. His face was round and charismatic. His brown eyes always seemed to smile, but that gentle expression could sometimes deceive. He was extremely intelligent.

Ina nodded and entered the room. She glanced over her shoulder toward the shinobi behind her. She studied those blue eyes in silence and then looked at her father and her countenance softened and became gentle again.

She approached her father and knelt on his right side and placed her hands on her own legs. She looked at the sake and realized they were celebrating something, perhaps a contract judging by the silence of the environment.

The man in black closed the shoji door and walked silently to Ieyasu and sat down before him. He was silent waiting for Ieyasu to speak. He glanced at Ina, thinking that if she was present then that would be his contract.

Ieyasu smiled at the man and poured more sake in his cup as he glanced at Ina, finding confusion in those beautiful and gentle eyes.

"Ina, this is going to be your bodyguard, his name is Masayasu, that's all you need to know for now. I just signed the contract with him, from now on he'll protect you, he'll be your shadow."

Ina frowned immediately at the news. What did her father want with that? Watch her? She never needed a bodyguard, why did it now?

She clenched her fists on her own legs, she needed to restrain her anger, her discontent, she did not want to go through it. And why a shinobi? Why not a kunoichi? What did her father want with that? This shinobi would surely relate all her steps to her father. No freedom now!

She glanced at Masayasu. Their eyes met. He had not said a single word since They'd met in the hallway. If he were the silent type, it would be even worse, because he will literally have only a shadow.

"Nice to meet you, my lady."

Masayasu finally said with a low and deep voice. His eyes were deep and deep blue, but it was as if it had not existed anything there, as if it had not life or joy, as if it existed only darkness and melancholy. Though he was a strong man, his eyes seemed emply and like hard rock.

Masayasu realized that she was irritated by the Ieyasu's idea, he can see it not only in her hands but in her eyes he could see that she was a young woman who used to demonstrate what she felt and this could be seen especially in those beautiful eyes and innocent.

But she was just a girl, he was sure that job would be easy, it was good money for a shinobi, he never thought he would get that much money to protect a princess. Although Ieyasu had said that she knew how to fight and was skilled with martial arts and bow, seeing now the young girl seemed only a noble girl. Probably spoiled and arrogant, like other princesses he met on missions.

Ina looked at her father and tried to take a deep breath before she began to speak. She did not want to show her nervousness in her voice.

"My dear father, why a bodyguard for me? I understand a bodyguard for my brother and one for you. You sent Hanzo on a mission and you need a bodyguard. Why do not you hire this shinobi to be your bodyguard? You need more than I do."

Ieyasu grinned, grabbed his sake glass and brought it to his lips for a sip.

"Hmm ... it's really delicious!"

He stated about the sake and then looked at his daughter with a smile on his lips. He knew she was uncomfortable with this idea, but that would not be a problem, she just needed to get used to Masayasu's presence.

"Shigemune does his role well as a bodyguard, it's not his job here, but as long as Hanzo does not return Shigemune has fulfilled his role well as my bodyguard, and I do not need another, Hanzo will return when he completes his mission."

Ieyasu spoke to Ina and then looked at Masayasu and gestured with his hand for him to take the sake.

"Masayasu is qualified for this, Koga sent me a letter of recommendations saying that he is discreet, cold and quiet, that description reminded me of Hanzo and Momochi, so he has the right qualification. We have already talked about his work and what he must do."

Masayasu looked at Ina, maybe she would not react well again, maybe he expected some spoiled princess scene to rise up, do some dramatic scene, and hit the door. But to his surprise, she remained in the same place, serious, calm, firm, like a stone. That caught his eye.

Ina sighed deeply and looked at Masayasu with a serious expression and no desire to speak to him, but it was her obligation at last.

"Welcome, Masayasu-sama. I hope we can get along."

She looked at her father and bowed in thanks. There was nothing to do or to question, it was all decided, she was invited to the meeting just to be introduced to her bodyguard.

"He's going to follow your orders, Ina, not just mine. He knows that you know how to fight and that eventually you take part in battles at my side. I do not want to lose you, so I hired him. You're a dear daughter to me."

He smiled at her affectionately and touched her hand in her lap.

Ina met his father's eyes and smiled at him. She could understand his feelings, but he could not understand hers, as always.

"Okay, my father, I'll try to stay safe, okay?"

She glanced at Masayasu and met those blue eyes again. He spoke so little at that meeting. Perhaps he was more talked about when she was not present, well she hoped for it, she hoped he would talk more at least.

"I'm going to retire, my father."

She looked at Ieyasu, put her hands on the tatami and bowed in thanks, then stood up.

Ieyasu looked at Masayasu, who had picked up his sake glass and brought it to his lips for a sip as his eyes followed the young princess. Oddly she seemed more mature than the other young princesses.

"Ina, take Masayasu to see the castle, show him what it takes for him."

Ieyasu smiled sympathetically and nodded to Masayasu following Ina. She stood in front of the door and opened the shoji door and turned to wait for Masayasu.

"If you have any questions or need to talk to me, you're welcome, Masayasu."

Masayasu finished sipping his sake glass and placed it on the tatami and bowed his head in thanks and got up quickly. Still silent, he followed Ina out of the room.

He cast a glance over the young princess. He did not show curiosity in his gaze, but his mind seemed to sharpen to know more about her. Strangely she had caught his attention.

His mission? Protect that girl. But what was different about her from the others? In his mind there was only that question.

Ina realized that Masayasu was looking at her. She did not like that look, she could not know what he was thinking or judging her. How could he do that? She bothered with that and turned her back on him and began to walk softly and gracefully down the hall.

Masayasu allowed a soft smile to appear in the corner of his mouth. He knew what she had thought, he saw it in her eyes. He saw her unease not knowing what was in his eyes, in his face, in his mind. It was blank, and this made the young princess uncomfortable.

He began to follow her, leaving a distance between them, only to prevent her from showing herself to be the noblewoman full of arrogance, and who would demand the usual minimum distance between a nobleman and his bodyguard. She was proud, he could see it in her eyes and her gestures, but it was not a spoiled girl's pride, it was something else.

Ina stopped suddenly after they had taken some distance, after passed from one corridor to the other. She turned to face Masayasu. Her violet eyes were serious. She studied that empty face, but despite that, he was a handsome man, she could not deny.

He had black hair stuck in a ponytail. He was not very tall, but his port was of a strong and athletic shinobi. She could stare at him for hours, but for some reason she could not, maybe the repressed anger was still bothering her. Knowing that her father had made a decision about her without informing anything caused big discomfort.

Ina stared at him for some time without saying a single word, she saw that he watched her, waiting for any words, maybe it was annoying her, but she knew that this situation was not his fault, he was there because her father asked and hired him, she could not blame him.

She averted her gaze a little, it was strange to think that now she would have a shadow behind her, because that was the feeling of having a bodyguard. She looked up to observe him, he seemed silent, or maybe it was just so as not to bother her. Would she get used to his presence?

"Masayasu-sama, I know you're not to blame for being here, it's a contract with my father and you need to follow this, but ... if he has put you to watch me I'll find out sooner or later."

She kept her face staring at Masayasu and saw a smile appear on the corner of his lips. Was he mocking her? Or did he have that smile naturally?

"I'm not here to watch over you, Inahime, but to protect you."

Masayasu spoke in a serious tone, his voice a little dry. He was understanding the direction of the conversation, maybe Inahime had a few freedoms that few princesses had and she did not want to lost it. He was not there to get that out of her.

Masayasu left the faint smile on the corner of his mouth like a fixed gesture at that moment, maybe he was mocking her, or maybe that was part of his manners.

Ina stared at him, she could not know what was going on in that mind, what that man had as a mission, but she would find out, she needed to try to be kind to him, so maybe she would get some information. The castle, she needed to show the castle.

She turned her back on him and looked over her shoulder still serious, but she was no longer as angry as before, but there was still some frustration. He seemed to really speak little.

"Come, I will show you the castle and some things that will be important for you to know, since you will stay here with us."

She began to walk softly. Her feet seemed to make no sound, Masayasu realized that although she was a Hime she did not drag her feet like one, she walked like a noble samurai.

His attention turned to her feet for some time and then he looked at her. Young, very beautiful, of strong temperament, her beauty could devour hearts of careless men.

Her hakama showed that she should be training, archery, as Lord Ieyasu had said, he could perceive by her body that she was not a simple princess, she was above that, she was a warrior princess.

Masayasu followed Ina through the hallways, she showed him with a gesture with her hand each room, telling who was there. When she reached the stairs, she stopped and turned to him. Her father trusted him, it seemed, she did not trust, but by order of her father then she would have to show the secrets of the castle as well.

"Up there are the rooms of the nobles who live here, my father, my father's relatives, and guests."

She started up the stairs followed by Masayasu. Each soft step of her, he perceived every elegant gesture of her, no doubt an elegant noble.

He began to look around, he needed to memorize every detail of the castle, inside and out, every room, every detail of that place would be important to his memory if he had any future problems. He should not think long time, but in the short time, he knew that Ieyasu Tokugawa had enemies and in an attack would surely try to hurt his daughter.

Ina showed every room, every secret passage, then stopped in front of her room and opened the shoji doors and showed Masayasu, as she turned to him.

"This is my room." she pointed to the ceiling of the room and met Masayasu's eyes. "There's an entrance, you can come in if you need to, you can not sleep on this floor, just the family members, but I'll put you in a nice room."

She closed the door and then walked to the stairs and started down. Anger had vanished from her face, Masayasu could already see a calmer countenance now, she already showed a gentler look.

She was showing a lot of information at the same time, but he had a great memory and had decorated the rooms of every nobleman, although for him it was only important the rooms of Inahime and Ieyasu.

They went down the stairs and then they walked down the hall and she led him into a room and opened the shoji doors and made a hand gesture for him to enter.

"This is going to be your room. If you need anything, you can ask a servant or maid at the castle."

Saying this she turned to him, and without another word she left him and started to walk away from him. Masayasu looked at her. She seemed to avoid him. His presence was causing her discomfort. Big discomfort.

"Inahime, can we talk?"

He asked still looking at her. His blue eyes fixed on her. She seemed so stubborn, or maybe she just did not want to show any weakness or accept what her father had decided for her. A bodyguard was looking like a burden to her, Masayasu did not want her to feel that way.

Ina stopped walking and turned to look at Masayasu. What did he want to talk to her about? They had already been introduced, they had nothing to talk about.

"I know we did not start well, but I'm here to protect you, I'm not your enemy, so I'd like to talk to you."

He spoke in a serious tone and stood in front of the room door, looking at her. Inahime was definitely upset, at another time he would not mind that, would make the person uncomfortable, but she was young, and that seemed to take away some of her freedom, so he needed to talk, he wanted to know her opinion on it.

Ina was thinking about Masayasu's words, as she looked into his face, those blue eyes did not show her anything, so maybe it was good to hear from him what he wanted or maybe he was honest and tell her what his real mission was.

Without saying anything, she walked toward his room, past him and casting a look at his face, he really was handsome. And then she went into his room.

She walked to the center of the room and knelt down and put her hands on her legs. Masayasu looked around and closed the shoji doors. Then he walked over to Ina, not taking his eyes off her. Her posture was erect, firm and elegant like a samurai.

He came and sat down before her. He knew from her look that it would not be a good conversation. She would not trust him easily, but for him to put his mission into practice, he would have to conquer Inahime's trust. But how? She seemed to have to built a wall between them. How would he climb this wall?

He waited for her to speak, but saw in her violet eyes a great seriousness and a silence, then with a sigh he decided to begin.

"Your father sent a letter to Koga, he asked him to indicate the best Koga Shinobi they had. I was the one indicated by them. Lord Ieyasu called me to talk today, I traveled here to conquer this contract, this mission. I just knew it was about protection, to be his daughter's bodyguard, but when I got here I discovered that you knew how to fight."

A faint smile appeared on the corner of his lips, his blue eyes fixed on Inahime. She seemed to be listening carefully to every word spoken by him.

"Maybe it's not as easy a mission as I imagined. But I'm not here as your enemy. Lord Ieyasu hired me as your bodyguard, not as a shinobi who will pass information on you to him."

He spoke in a dry, almost cold sound. He wanted to make it clear he was there to protect her, nothing more.

Ina watched him speak, she was beginning to understand why her father chose him, he could be cold, and rough many times. He preferred to put a man to protect her because it was easier to engage in battles.

Ieyasu certainly chose Masayasu for certain characteristics. Maybe strength, skill and personality. Personality was important for this contract. He should protect her, But keeping her distance, that would be it.

But even if he said he was not there to watch her, she could not believe his words. She still did not trust him. How did he want her to trust him?

"Sorry, Masayasu-sama, but your words are empty for me. I'm sure as shinobi you're hiding your real mission from me."

Then suddenly she stood up. Masayasu stared at her. What could he do? At this moment nothing. She did not trust him, and maybe the trust between them would have to be better worked out and it take time. Maybe long time, who knows.

Ina bowed a little and walked to the shoji doors and opened it. She did not say anything else and this time she did not turn to look at him, just left and closed the doors behind her.

She sighed deeply, feeling frustrated, her father should have talked to her before making that decision. She moved away from the door and looked to it. After just looking through the silence she walked away from there.

Masayasu rested his elbows on his legs and clasped his hands together to below the chin. That mission would not be easy. He did not have an easy personality and now he realized that she did not either. But beyond doubt, at no time did she act like a noble princess, but rather like a warrior princess.

How was he supposed to approach her? Maybe he should wait for her to come? Maybe he should just around her in silence, what his mission would be like. But his presence caused discomfort. How was he supposed to deal with her?

He sighed. "Not easy ..." he grunted.

Ina walked out of the castle, she sat on the porch and put on her sandals, her countenance was hard, she was angry again, needed to take time to relax and forget it. She was trying to convince herself that she could get used to it, but though she said it to herself, her heart told her that her new company would still bother her.

She got up and walked away from the castle. She walked across the courtyard, watching the people passing by, each with their chores to be fulfilled. She? She did not have so many tasks, just her training every morning, she started early, and by the time she should have finished, but today was an atypical day for her, actually it seemed that since she woke up a click in her mind she said that her life would change from that day.

She walked around trying to empty her mind, trying to get the idea that from now on she would have a constant companion. She thought about it and suddenly she widened her eyes in surprise and looked back to see if Masayasu was already behind her. But she saw no one. She looked around, in the trees, in the shadows, wherever he could stand, just standing there watching her, but Ina saw no one.

A sigh. Maybe she was overdoing it, maybe it was not so bad. But she was accustomed to being free and now would have someone to watch over her. Other sighs and she glanced toward her bow, still leaning against the support, where she had left earlier, she walked over to it, picked up the quiver and threw it on her back and then picked up her bow.

Ina slid her fingers along the rope of her bow, the company of her weapon soothing her heart. She managed to smile, smile at her bow. He drew an arrow from her quiver and attached it to the rope of the bow, then raised the bow, positioned it, extending the rope, bringing the rope with the arrow to her ear. She looked at the target, inside the courtyard was bad to train because the space was not too big but it was at least 10 meters to shoot, that was something.

She took a deep breath and caught the air, her eyes fixed on the target, she heard nothing around her, it was just her and her bow, her and arrow, her and the target.

Then her fingers slid releasing the rope gently, the arrow slid as fast as she could, flying in the air at a big speed and in seconds hit the middle of the target, right in the center of the red circle.

Ina lowered her bow, her eyes fixed on the target, she already felt calmer, her bow was something that had the power to soothe her heart.

Masayasu was in his room. He stood up and looked around. It was a simple room for castle's servants, but it was a little larger and with some luxury.

He had a closet for him, to store his belongings. He had a desk for study or writing. A cushion behind the desk, with a wooden backrest and hands, like a chair without legs, but with a blue cushion.

He had a bookcase, though he had not brought many books, only his favorites. His things were in the corner of the room, no one had stirred anything, just been placed in that room, probably Ieyasu asked for it, and Ina already knew he would stay in that room.

He would have time to organize everything after, his mind at that moment wandering and direction the young princess. Masayasu has had missions with princesses in the past, hired to protect in a short period, for one month or two, only for the castle not to be unprotected and someone try to take the princess of the castle. But they were all spoiled and feared. They only cried in fear, but this was different, she was strong and fearless.

A brief smile. His blue eyes brightened with satisfaction. It was a rare brightness, since as a shinobi he did not take any interest in the life of who he should protect, his mission was to protect, nothing more. But Ina was different, she did not want to be protected.

Although his hair was tied in a ponytail, he wore his loose fringe, all on his side, which could cover a little of his face, but even covering a little of the side of his face, you could see a certain curiosity in those eyes always cold or empty.

His life as Shinobi was always full of death and pain. He had his own past, a tragic past, and after experiencing a life he always wished he had, he realized that he could not live like the others, he was a shinobi, and his life would be short, with losses and deaths.

His hands were filled with memories of deaths, deaths he caused, people he murdered on missions, and deaths of people he had loved in the past. Nothing stays alive in his hands, only the people he had a contract to protect.

In his eyes there was death, he was a man who saw so many deaths that he did not care anymore. There was coldness in his eyes because life made him cold because he dealt closely with death, and there was a void because life took away everything that was dear to him in the past, his family, a love, a life.

Now he was facing a young woman full of life, with determined eyes, eyes that wish to live, to live a life as she wished, not as it was meant for her to live. Somehow this young woman brought him a strange sensation in his mind. Life. She was life, while he was death.

Masayasu allowed a faint smile to appear in the corner of his lips. His strange thoughts about this young woman brought the idea that this mission would not be a common mission, perhaps that mission could bring a change to his life. A life he knew would be short, and he did not mind dying tomorrow, he was a shinobi after all.

He walked to the door of his room and opened the shoji doors, left and closed it behind him. He walked silently down the hall and out onto the porch and walked through it, looking toward the courtyard.

Masayasu saw how the castle was busy, it was a living, luxurious castle full of people working for that Lord and his relatives. Maybe a bustling castle was better than a dead castle where any sound could cause a sudden confusion thinking it might be an enemy attack.

He slid gently across the porch to the small three staircase, descended, and walked down the courtyard. There were trees on the left side, the treetop were beautiful because of the red, yellow and orange foliage, it was autumn after all.

His eyes roamed wherever he could imagine Ina might be. He had not known anything about her yet, but judging from her temper, she must be training, inside or outside the castle. He just had to figure it out.

Suddenly he stopped walking when he saw in the distance, an area in the courtyard reserved for training, Ina was there. He could see her posture with her bow. The elegance of her posture, the speed that shot each arrow.

Even at this distance he could see the target, all the arrows in the center of the target, in the red circle, surely Ieyasu had not exaggerated when he spoke of her ability, she was master at archery.

Instead of walking up to her, he just vanished before the eyes of anyone who was watching that man dressed in black and appeared beside her, he saw that she was concentrating for a new shot with the bow, but he knew that although she had not looked at him, she knew he was by her side.

He waited for her to shoot. Ina was holding the rope with the arrow near her ear. Her eyes on the target. She knew that Masayasu was at her side watching her, but that was not able to take her concentration away. She released the rope and the arrow flew to the target, hitting the center again.

Ina lowered her bow and turned her face to look at Masayasu. She saw those blue eyes looking at her. What was she supposed to tell him? What did he still want from her? Okay, he had to protect her, but inside the castle he did not have to stay at her side all the time.

"Your father did not exaggerate, you're a great master at archery."

Said Masayasu allowing a brief smile to appear at the corner of his lips. He was being honest even though she did not believe him, he was honest in his praise.

"Your posture is perfect for shooting, can you shoot at any distance? And on a horse, can you shoot?"

Ina realized that he was being honest, although she could not see it in his eyes, the way he spoke to her was natural, he was not forcing a compliment.

She then nodded at the two questions. "Yes, I shoot at any distance, and on the move. When I'm riding the horse, it's easy to hit the target, but if I have the ground and have to shoot someone riding a horse, it's a bit more difficult, but I can I hit it wrong sometimes, but overall I hit it. "

Her voice was calm now. It was the first time that Masayasu knew her true tone of voice, soft and calm, she had a beautiful voice, had a purity in that voice, as if it were a musical instrument of strings. She was calm, at that moment he had discovered that shooting with the bow calmed her. He would keep it in his memory.

"What about training together tomorrow morning? You're up early, right?"

He raised an eyebrow with a certain mockery. His lips showed a slight wry smile. Ina realized he was mocking her, but she realized that it was not to irritate her. She smiled at him, her first smile at him.

"Yes, I wake up at twenty to six, at exactly six o'clock I train, then I take my breakfast."

Masayasu saw that smile was a beginning of truce between them. Maybe her initial anger had passed, or she had already had her time to sort out her own thoughts and calm down, there was no turning back, he was her bodyguard from now on, and she could not fight it.

Ina nodded to Masayasu and smiled. "Okay, you win, I'll train with you tomorrow, but on a condition."

She stared at him, those blue eyes fixed on hers, he had so much mystery in that look, perhaps because he could always remain neutral, always cold, without showing his real feelings there.

"A condition?"

Masayasu crossed his arms and left an eyebrow raised waiting for her to continue, he wanted to know what kind of condition this was.

"Teach me how to jump on a tree. I know you shinobi can jump at an incredible height, I would like to learn."

Ina smiled at him, she knew nothing about him, but one thing she knew, he wanted a truce, he did not want her to see him as an enemy, so probably he would accept her condition.

"Accepted condition."

Masayasu responded promptly, without thinking of her condition. it was more than fair, and it would be an incredibly interesting morning, he could really see what her skills, strength, dexterity and agility were.

"Take your bow, your arrows, we'll train in the woods, just you and I. I'll prepare the targets, do not worry about it."

He spoke in his dry and deep voice. Ina watched him talking, it was the first time she could look at him without feeling angry, she should not nurture that kind of feeling for him, he was her shinobi now, her bodyguard and her father said that he would obey her, of anyway. But .... she did not want to have that kind of relationship with him, like Lady and servant. Maybe .... friends?

A brief smile crossed her lips as she thought about it and she noticed that he saw her smile. Immediately her cheeks turned red. He was looking at her and he noticed something on her face, she had noticed it.

Ina took a step back and put a hand on her own cheek feeling it was heat, she knew now that it was as red as a tomato. Masayasu looking at her in silence, looking at that beautiful red face. What she had thought he did not know, but her eyes said it was about him.

A small smile at the corner of his lips, she certainly would not share her thoughts with him, but it was not necessary, he imagined that perhaps she had noticed something in his appearance that she liked.

He was not there to seduce or engage with her, this was not his contract, he would never have accepted a mission that way, but maybe that could help her lower her guard so he would approach her. She was a girl yet, he could not forget it.

Ina took another step back and quickly placed the bow in the support, she felt her hand shake a little, her heart beating fast, she was really embracing at that moment. Then she took out her quiver and set it aside and quickly turned to Masayasu.

"I trained too much today, I have other tasks to do, I have to study."

She spoke quickly and then cast a quick glance at Masayasu and bowed quickly and ran away from him. Masayasu stood in the same spot, following her with his gaze, she was incredibly interesting, incredibly beautiful, incredibly strong.

He smiled at the thought of it, his thoughts were that he was being a fool, seemed too interested in knowing about his contract, he should not.

In his mind there was an internal struggle, between just following his contract and meeting Inahime. After years he never thought that he would find someone interesting, someone who aroused curiosity to him, now he was before a young woman that he wanted to know everything about her.

Masayasu watched as Ina walked away, she really had embarrassed him. What had she been thinking? He did not know, but for now her manners did not bother him, in fact she was a young woman with an admirable personality, very difficult to find in young people her age. Maybe her real father, Tadakatsu Honda, had raised her to be a great woman. Who knows.

He looked at the target, Ina's arrows were all in the red circle in the center of the target. A faint smile appeared on his lips, he knew he had chosen well, maybe a way for Ina to trust him, this training could bring benefit to both of them.

Masayasu looked around, just to see if anyone was around, and quickly vanished.

Ina rushed inside the castle and climbed the stairs quickly, but without losing her graceful movements. Her heart was beating fast, she had been embarrassed for an awkward moment and she was sure Masayasu had realized, she had to stay away from him at that moment.

Upon arriving on the second floor where there were the Ieyasu's relatives' room she quickly walked to her room, she looked back to be sure that Masayasu had not followed her, as shinobi she never knew what to expect.

She stopped in front of the room and opened the shoji doors and looked into the room as she entered slowly. She looked in the corners and then at the ceiling. She did not feel the presence of anyone, but what if he was like Hanzo who could erase his presence?

She turned to the doors and closed them both. A sigh of relief. She put a hand on her cheek and felt it was still warm. She was not supposed to react like this to him, even though he was the most handsome man she had ever known, as a noblewoman that was not the right way to react.

Ina turned to look at her room. It was a relief to be alone, at least for a few minutes, she needed to get used to the idea that she would never be completely alone again. She looked up at the ceiling again. There were bamboo boards that could be picked up by a shinobi.

Her room was ample. She had a wardrobe to store her clothes and belongings. A bookcase on the port side full of books. Opposite the shelf was a low table with a chair without legs, but with a red cushion. Next to the door a stand with a katana, an wakizashi and a tanto.

She still had armor next to the sword holder. It was a beautiful armor, silver with a white haori with golden details. There was a silver and gold helmet. Beside closet was a stand with a beautiful lilac hime's haori with details on flowers at the edges.

On top of the stand with the swords was a painting of a beautiful black dragon. Ina looked in that direction, trying to calm down. She had won this painting as a gift from one of her father's allies, Date Masamune. It was not unusual for a court lady other than his fiancée, but he made a point of bringing this gift to her, admiring her on a battlefield. She smiled at the painting and felt her heart calm down slowly.

Ina had met Masamune, she admired his abilities and his personality, he was the kind of man she could admire; strong, fearless and very intelligent. After her father, Tadakatsu Honda, the only man she had known who could say how admirable was Masamune Date. They had fought together in some battles.

She walked to the balcony of her room and opened the shoji doors and left. She can feel the breeze on her face, soft and a little cold. A smile formed on her lips. She looked toward the courtyard, the view from above was good, she could see the people working and talking, but she had no access to the courtyard where she was training, she was on the other side of the castle, unfortunately she would have to use some other room to see this.

But she imagined that Masayasu would not be there, he should have gone back to his room, after all it was lunchtime, and she did not even know if he had eaten breakfast. She had not been a good hostess to him, in fact she had acted without much thought in front of him, maybe she ought to apologize, did not need to start that way.

She had a brilliant idea, her sharp smile indicating that the idea was too good for a fresh start. She entered the room and closed the shoji doors behind her and walked to the front doors and opened only a part and put her head out of the room and smiled at the maid who was next to her room.

The maid quickly realized that Ina wanted to talk to her. She bowed and approached Ina, her head a little low. Ina smiled at her and leaned into her ear and whispered something. The maid just nodded and then looked at Ina with a smile.

"I'll do it, my lady."

And saying this, the maid rushed away, walking toward the stairs. Ina stared at the maid until she was gone, then closed the door to her room.

Masayasu went to his room, it was his first day at the castle, he would like to have a map of the castle, but probably only Ieyasu would have it. It would be more practical for him to memorize every part of the castle on the map, perhaps he should ask Inahime.

He saw brush and paint on the small table in his room, then took a blank scroll on the shelf and went to sit on the cushion in front of the small table and opened the parchment and tried to draw the map of the castle, everything he remembered. Every detail, every tree, every stone, every room, every building, since beyond the castle there were still other buildings within the walls, one for servants, another for weapons and another for bathing the nobles.

Masayasu had a good memory, he remembered every place Ina had shown him, the details his eyes catch up. He did not know what was inside the nobles' rooms, but he remembered Ina's room, even in a brief moment, he could see inside and had memorized everything. She had armor. A beautiful armor.

A maid appeared behind Masayasu's door, he could see the shadow of her, his eyes glanced toward the door and he hoped she would say something.

"Sorry, sir, it's lunchtime, Milady asked you to go to her room"

The maid stood behind the door, waiting to hear any word from that shinobi. For some reason she did not feel comfortable talking to shinobi, although there were many in the castle, she was afraid of them.

Masayasu was silent for some time thinking about the maid's words. Inahime had called him to her room at lunchtime. An invitation for lunch?

He kept staring at the door, then his attention turned to the map he was drawing. He put his hand on his chin, studying his drawing, he had already drawn all the castle seen from above, he had to draw from the inside.

Masayasu looked at the door and saw that the maid was still waiting for an answer. He picked up his parchment and began to curl up as he got up quickly.

"Tell her I'll be in your room in two minutes."

He said in dry tone. And he saw that the maid said nothing, but he could see she bowed and getting up and dragging her feet on the wooden floor.

Masayasu put the parchment on his shelf and looked toward the door. Inahime sometimes surprised, he did not expect an invitation to have lunch with her. Maybe she wanted to show that she was not angry or upset? Or simply wanted to show that she was a good hostess?

A small smile appeared on the corner of his lips, his dull blue eyes had a small glow now. He wanted to know that answer personally.

Masayasu decided to surprise her a little, since she had done the same with him. He vanished and within seconds was standing before her balcony.

#Book #wattpad #Inahime #Masayasu

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