#i just need to shade the thing (still day 1 for me. still havent finished day 8)

[espy-heart]

Day 4!

[littlemisslipbalm]

Little Border Town Pt. 3

Summary: It begins with a man and a woman, as it always seems to. One lives in France and the other lives in Italy, technically, but they’re also neighbors. Various issues arise between these two and they can’t ever seem to see eye to eye on anything. Will they ever move past their petty fighting or is the little town they live in doomed to only gossip about what Harry and Y/N are fighting about today? 

Part 3: the one with the boat and the beginning of a storm

IT’S BEEN AGESSSS I AM SO SO SORRY I LOVE YALL SO MUCH AND EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER READ THIS THANK YOU FOR BEING PATIENT

also harry is wearing this fit in this part just no tie?? i think i cant remember

college has been incredibly crazy this year already and i just dont have time to write like i did before i went back. i honestly had this mostly finished and i havent reread so i have no idea what even happens so lmk what you think, i can’t imagine that it will get a lot of notes but if it did id be very happy about that - anyways lots of love and feedback appreciated as always...pls enjoy

Word Count: 6.6k | Warnings: ?? Swearing? idek, more yearning bc slow burn

Catch up here! part 1 | 2 |

-

“Isn’t the weather not ideal for boat sailing today,” she ponders as her face looks up at the sky. She’s walking into Harry’s store again after running back to her place to grab a jacket and lock up. She placed a notecard in the door’s window that says “closed today, see you tomorrow” with a smiling face as punctuation.

Harry grins, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He had sailing boots on his feet with a smart big-collared printed shirt and marigold trousers. Instead of a belt, he had suspenders that matched the color of his pants and a pearl necklace as his final accessory other than his rings. He must have repainted his nails this morning because they were a light lavender shade that hadn’t been noticeable last night.

“It’s just fine. We’re entering fall and the sun is out today!” He gestures to the sky above them and she nods in agreement that the sun is indeed out. However she wasn’t sure if she’d categorize it as a nice day to go out on the sea still. With the sun there were also many clouds, they were mostly white and fluffy, but she was sure they could turn sinister any moment.

“Ready?” He beams.

“As I’ll ever be.”

-

On the boat, Y/N felt her stomach churning. Was she giddy or unnerved? Likely, both.

Harry was tying the boat off the dock after helping her onto the deck. It wasn’t a huge boat, not a yacht or anything, but it also wasn’t a tiny sailboat. It had an upper deck where maybe four people - at most - could comfortably be. Then a lower deck, inside a hatch in the upper deck. She couldn’t discern how much space was down there, but she was sure Harry would show her. He was talking through everything he was doing on the boat. Ad nauseum for an extremely nontechnical girl, such as herself.

Still, she sat in the spot he had directed her to next to the closed hatch and watched him move gracefully around the boat. Maneuvering the sails and different parts of the boat was a dance for Harry. Each step, each twist and knot, moved by a song unknown to her. It was beautiful. He was completely in his element, surprisingly. Again, Harry surprised her. She knew he had a boat, but whenever she thought of a jerk with a boat she didn’t think of what she was seeing with her own eyes. It was beautiful - or at least, it would be, if he’d shut his big mouth that was now making her roll her eyes as he made a pun about boats.

“So,” Harry starts finally, finishing up whatever he needed to do to get the boat off the dock and on the path he wanted. They were moving out into open water, she could see the little town, but it was growing smaller by the minute. Her stomach churned again as she looked up at the man she had just trusted to take her out onto the ocean. She grimaced slightly at the thought.

“Do you want to see the inside?” he continued.

She nods eagerly, “Finally!”

He chuckles lightly before opening up the hatch and gesturing for her to go first. She looks at him hesitantly.

“This isn’t a trap right? It’s not going to be all...murder-y down there?” Her voice is pitched higher, she’s almost completely serious.

This time Harry’s laugh comes from his belly, almost doubling over at the word ‘murder-y’. Between laughs, he tries to reassure her. “God no...oh my god.” More laughter, then a deep breath. “The only evil entity on this boat is the diavola I invited on here,” he gestures to her standing in front of him and her eyes narrow. Displeasure washing over her features.

“You’re ridiculous,” her hand swats at his sternum before she turns from him and climbs down to the underdeck area.

When she’s down, she’s surprised with her surroundings and she doesn’t notice Harry follow quickly behind her. It’s neat and stylish. Well, she’s not completely surprised, Harry was very fashionable. But the neatness dissipated all thoughts of the improbable scenario where Harry had lured her on his boat to murder her. It was what she had been freaking out over when she had at first refused to enter.

There was a small daybed at the end of the hall that doubled as a couch, a door to a bathroom, a dining area, a kitchenette, and then the random area they were standing in. It wasn’t super spacious, it was a hallway with things around it, but it was clean and it smelled nice. Everything had a place and they were neatly put in their places. After a moment, she turned at the feeling of Harry’s presence behind her.

He grinned, scanning the areas her eyes had just taken in for the first time. His green eyes were filled with admiration. “Do you like it?”

“Yeah, smells like you.” She nods matter of factly.

“Huh?” His head whips to her, sure he hadn’t heard her right.

“The whole place is very you,” she looks away from him and walks down the hall to the daybed and takes a seat, “Styles-ish.”

He follows quickly behind, shaking his head out of his own thoughts.

He mumbles a thanks, not catching the play on words she’d used with his last name. She smiles to herself, pleased. He stands in the doorway, not really wanting to sit beside her. Maybe he didn’t trust himself with being in such close proximity with her anymore. No, not after last night.

Her eyes widen slightly when he leans against the doorway and crosses his arms. The sleeves of his button-up had been rolled up when he had been working with the sails. Her lips suddenly are dry and she wets them with her tongue, eyes moving to the fabric of the blanket she’s sat on top of.

“I meant to say,” Harry breaks the silence, obviously not a fan of the quiet. A hand leaves his pose and runs through his hair, rings classically tugging at his curls. He swallows before he speaks again, “Thanks, uh, for stopping me last night. That would’ve been weird…”

He trails off and her eyes go wide again, but now they’re trained on his face. His eyes are downcast now, watching the way light plays off his rings. She tries to make out the sound in his voice, the expression he’s trying to hide with indifference. Her teeth tug her bottom lip into her mouth as she thinks, silence once again taking hold of the small, small room. The air is tense, static, unmoving, the complete opposite of the water that rushes just outside the walls of the boat.

She clears her throat and Harry locks eyes with her, “No problem...alcohol and atmosphere, clouds the head. I get it.” She did, but she also hadn’t wanted the gratitude Harry had just placed on her.  

“You booze, you lose,” he smiles, straightening up and she looks at him quizzically.

“That’s such an odd phrase.”

“No it’s not!”

“It’s a play on ‘you snooze, you lose’ right?” She leans forward, face looking smugly up at Harry’s offended face.

“Well, yeah,” Harry admits.

“I can’t believe you made that up and got it tattooed,” She states breezily and then stands. She brushes past him to look around the rest of the cabin.

Harry scoffs, not even noticing the way her fingers had brushed over his naked forearm as she passed, too focussed on his indignation. “How’d you know about the tattoo?”

“Naked neighbor? Never closing his shade? Do you seriously need a refresher course already? Seriously, boat boy, I really thought you were smarter than that,” She talks as she snoops around the different parts of the cabin. She pokes at figurines and looks at little photos and paintings. Her head looks over her shoulder and she laughs happily at Harry’s face of irritation. It was so easy to push his buttons.

“Don’t call me boat boy,” he seethes, but she knows he’s not really mad. More like he’s a child who got told no dessert before dinner. A laugh rocks through her body again and bubbles to the surface. It causes Harry to soften, this time there’s no alcohol in his system to account for the feeling he just felt. He mirrors the smile she has. That is until she reaches the kitchenette and finds a rack of CDs sitting beside the sink.

She turns from him and begins to leaf through them, most of them are artists she recognizes. But then she reaches some that are just titled “Demo” with various numbers beside the word. Her fingers nimbly pick out “Demo #1” and turn back to Harry with an inquisitive gaze. His green eyes are bigger than usual, the smile gone from his face.

“These from the boy band days?” She smiles wider as he turns a little red. She crosses closer to him, remembering the sight of a cd player in the main area where the entrance to the cabin was.

“Erm..no.” She flips around again, confused again, but then it dawns on her. “Demos for my solo work.”

“That you put on hold to take over for your Uncle.”

“Great Uncle.” He corrects.

“I know.” She waited a second, where she was about to be quick to play the CD, she now wanted to get Harry’s permission. It might be a little more personal than she had first thought. “Can we listen to this one? You’d technically be taking me up on the request to play for me sometime.”

“Yeah, they’re rough - obviously. So if you could try to not bruise my ego, at least not more than you usually do,” he grins and she looks at him with dead eyes. A smile cracks on her face quickly, still.

“I wouldn’t...this is different,” she struggles to find the right words. She would never make fun of something he cared a lot about, not now. She wasn’t that person, it was odd to think he maybe saw her like that. She shook away the thought and focused on placing the CD in its player correctly.

The first song begins to play, he’s right it is rough, it’s a demo. There’s no backing vocals or beat of any kind. Just a voice and a guitar. And it’s amazing. After the guitar intro, she lets out a breath she had been holding when she hears the voice. His voice. It’s beautiful. And she’s shocked, her eyes flash to Harry. He’s nibbling at his bottom lip, watching her hear it for the first time. His voice from all those years ago.

“Brooklyn saw me empty at the news, there’s no water inside this swimming pool.”

Her eyes light up again at the lyrics and she smiles, finding it melancholic yet slightly funny at the same time. It was interesting, the words, his voice, the meaning. Some bits of information eluded her, but she knew she enjoyed the song.

“And I’ve been praying, I never did before.”

Even as the song moved on from this one lyric, she felt it replaying in her head as she watched the singer in front of her. Years older than he had been when he had written this song. She was filled with questions and paused the CD as the guitar faded out.

“That’s it?” Harry laughs, “Just one song? It was really that horrible?”

“Oh my god, no!” She is emphatic, needing Harry to understand she’s serious. She takes a step closer to his figure. He had traveled closer to her while the song had played. They were almost chest to chest and her hand goes out to touch his forearm. “I really liked it, genuinely. I just needed a moment before the next one.”

“Bracing yourself?”

“Stop, I’m serious. It was beautiful. Your voice is wonderful, Harry.”

His eyes sparkle at the praise, finally believing she’s not taking the piss. Then his eyes dropped from her gaze, “I was a lot younger then, was 21 I think when I recorded this demo.”

“So? A voice like that doesn’t just disappear, dude.” She looks at him with a finality in her expression before dropping the hand that was firmly gripping his tattooed arm and turning back to the CD player.

Harry bites his lip as another one of his early songs plays over the shoddy speakers. His voice repeats “Meet me in the hallway” over the solo guitar. There’s no echo or bass, no count in like the final song was supposed to have. It’s just him and his guitar, before he chose to leave it all behind.

His voice is sadder here, she notices and she visibly winces at “just take the pain away” and “just let me know, I’ll be on the floor” and his repetition of “gotta get better.”

How did this man, who seemed fazed by practically nothing, have so much hurt in him to write both of these songs? Her eyes welled with water, but she blinked them back still staring at the singer before her. He was watching the CD spin in the player as his voice came through the speakers. He was lost in thought, in memory. Maybe she was lucky, these weren’t memories for her, she was only hearing his interpretation of his life. She hadn’t had to live that pain first hand. This time she doesn’t pause before the next song.

The next one seems more produced than the last two. This one starts with drums, a step up from the last two acoustic demos in respect to production. A big crash and then a wailing guitar and an accompanying voice. His voice is stronger here, more sure of himself. And then it changes again, melancholic once again and her heart strings are yanked at again.

“We’re not who we used to be, we’re just two ghosts standing in the place of you and me, trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat.”

The guitar continues that sad tone for a riff and then goes back to strumming beneath his voice. She shifts her eyes to him again and sighs softly, it weighs heavy on her soul that the man next to her has seemingly been through so much heartache. He looks up at “We don’t see what we used to see” and she holds his gaze, brows knit together in confusion and sadness. She pauses this time, finger reaching out without looking.

“This is depressing, please tell me they’re not all sad songs or I might as well have turned on a pet rescue commercial.”

His smile etches on his face, in a small knowing smirk and he crosses into her personal space. She’s about to step back, but he reaches out and softly bats her finger away from the pause/play button. She smiles back, shuffling to lean against the counter beside him. It was unusual for them to be on the same side of the counter, much like last night at the bar.

“There’s six songs on this demo. Three sad, three…” he trails off, looking at her expectantly. She nods. “You gotta learn to be a little less impatient, hmm?”

“Not impatient, just trying to brace myself for more sadness. I thought I had been promised a day of fun,” she grumbles.

“I wasn’t the one who suggested a demo listening party,” his brows raise and she twists her mouth to the side at his smug response.

“True,” she finally concedes with a murmur.

He presses play and a new song comes on that is more upbeat than any of the other’s that have played so far. It also seems to be a bit more produced than the first two. Her hand rests on the countertop and begins to tap, she quirks her brow at the first lyric “she’s got a family in carolina, so far away, but she says I remind her of home.”  A girl who likened Harry Styles to the South of the United States, interesting. As she listens to the lyrics, she smirks at the massive crush he must have had to write this song. The “good girl” lyrics bounce around in her mind and her mind drifts back to last night. Would it have felt good? To kiss Harry?

Then, she’s brought out of her reverie with “I met her once and wrote a song about her”. Her eyes widen and look to Harry again inquisitively as his past self muses over how good this girl felt. He wrote about a one night stand? That woman must have been magic. That was all she had to say about that.

“Really?” She asks incredulously, folding her arms over her chest. His gaze flickers at the movement, human nature. He presses pause.

“What?”

“A one night stand earned that?”

He looked at her seriously, like the answer was obvious. She laughs before continuing.

“You’re a simp.”

“I’m sorry?” He sputters at her statement immediately.

She raises her brows as a response now. Nothing else to say.

“She wasn’t a one night stand,” he defends, “She was a blind date...and it had been after a dry spell.”

She starts to laugh, about to give another snarky response, but he adds, “And I was twenty-one.” The numbers specifically enunciated.

“You’re still a simp in my book...but I liked the song. It was catchy, rock vibes in there. I don’t know about her telling you remind her of Carolina - north or south, I don’t see it.”

He eyes her warily, still not happy with her titling him that gen z term that was super popular all over the internet. He took her in and he knew she was only three years younger than him, he was pretty sure, yet she used ‘simp’ and ‘vibes’ like they were lexicon words. He didn’t hate it, it was just different than what he usually heard in the little border town. Italian not having translations for things like that, English was so interesting, internet language was so interesting.  

“I-” He starts and stops. “She said it. Was she right? That’s not my place to judge.”

“I don’t know,” Y/N pressed, words dragging out playfully, “Personally, I wouldn’t want to be a reminder of the U.S. South, but okay...simp.”

“I swear to god if you call me that one more time, I’m throwing you overboard and I won’t feel bad about it.”

Her eyes widen and then she smiles, he cracks a smile too. They huddle back around the CD player, ready for the next song. It starts with a strong guitar and drums, again well produced compared to the acoustic earlier ones.

His voice in this is far more shaky, unsure of himself again. “Let me take my medicine, take my medicine, treat you like a gentleman,” comes through the speakers. She shivers and looks at him, her fingers tapping along to the beat. The instruments are strong where his voice is soft, it doesn’t exactly fit, but she likes the lyrics still. When it gets to the pre-chorus, that’s when she knows she loves the song.

“I had a few got drunk on you and now I’m wasted, and when I sleep I’m gonna dream of how you (tasted)”

When his voice pitches high for ‘wasted’ she loses it. Her body moves with the instruments and her eyes close and her head wiggles. Harry smiles happily as she dances for the first time to one of his songs. The last word must have been shouted by his bandmates, because she doesn’t hear him say it.

Then the chorus hits and she wonders how it got even better. Her eyes shoot open and she just stares at Harry, her jaw slightly dropped.

“If you got out tonight, I’m going out tonight cause I know you’re persuasive! You got that something and I got me an appetite now I can taste it”

His past self sings of getting dizzy and his voice moans into the mic the demo was recorded on. She’s blown away. It sounds so hot, his voice gaining confidence during the pre-chorus and the chorus to have an all around rockstar sound.

The present Harry just taps his rings together as he watches her, studying her reaction with an even-tempered expression. Why isn’t he screaming like she is on the inside? When it gets to the second verse she’s bracing herself for what’s to come. This song has her pulse racing and blood flowing wildly around her body. She’s buzzing from it.

“The boys and the girls are in, I mess around with him and I’m okay with it”

The electric guitar follows the line up and she thinks she’s going to pass out on this boat right now. Flamboyant Harry. Was this what Marie had been talking about. The wild side of Harry she really had never seen, embodied in one song. She wanted more of it. Still all she got was the Harry on the demo rocking out to his song. She can hear him smiling through the recording, the sad boy from a few songs ago was now feeling euphoric. She just wanted to dance the night away with him.

Then another pre-chorus: “I’m coming down, I figured out I kinda like it, and when I sleep I’m gonna dream of how you (ride it)”

His voice goes high again for ‘like it’ this time and her question of what is to follow is quickly answered with the bandmates screaming ‘ride it’ into the mics they must have had. It’s punctuated with the drums and other instruments. A noise escapes the back of her throat and Harry looks at her both smugly and amused. She rolls her eyes in response, trying to convince Harry that she hadn’t just had images of him singing about how good someone rides him flash in her mind. Even more so with the images of someone, namely her, being the object of his dreams. Doing the things he said he’d dream of. That, that was definitely not what she was thinking about. Definitely not. Her throat was dry and she swallowed hard. Harry’s eyes never left her face. Watching every reaction, gauging it and storing the information elsewhere for the time being.

She sings along to the chorus, trying to focus on the song, it was easy to pick up, but then the damn moans. And then there’s a guitar solo that sounds like sex itself and she’s baffled that this was an unreleased demo, not a famous rock song. Harry in front of her can’t stop himself from tapping his feet at this part, a little dance forming on his body as his eyes finally leave her figure. They close as he feels the music, the memory of his friend playing the riff clear in his mind and how much he had loved it. It builds up again and then there’s a final chorus. She watches him now as he dances in the confined space. His mouth opens to sing along to the “la la la’s”

It ends and goes straight into another upbeat song. It seemed like a complimentary song to the one that had just played.

“I don’t want your sympathy, but you don’t know what you do to me, oh Anna!”

His voice sings strong again. Harry before her composed himself again, going back to his watching position. He took in her tapping and smiling to the song. He also mouths the words slightly as it plays, the lyrics clear as the day he finished writing them almost 4 years ago. One of the final ones for this demo.

“Hope you never hear this and know that it’s for you, don’t know what I’d tell you if you asked me for the truth”

She smirks at him, now, with the earnest lyrics, about to say something, but then notices the change in the guitar. It switches from the epic riff that was going to a more familiar tune, “Faith” by George Michael. She looks at him, a cheesy grin on her face as the voice begins to sing the chorus of that song. Her body begins to dance to it, like an old man doing the twist. She’s not ashamed and Harry loves it and joins her by mirroring the movements.

When the song comes to an end, they’re one large giggling mess. She falls into his arms and he holds her steady, their laughter coming out with freedom.

“Thanks for making me be patient,” She looks up at him, “it was worth it!”

He smiles, backing up slightly, “It’s like I knew what I was talking about.”

“Ok smart guy,” she teases with a silly voice. “I’m assuming whoever Anna is, isn’t actually named Anna then...?”

Harry hums and makes a twitch of his brows, but doesn’t respond. Instead he grabs her hand and she squeaks slightly, he pulls her to the ladder and prompts her to go up. She obliges silently and lands back on the top of the boat now. She looks out and sees the little town to be off in the distances now, shining blue water all around the creamy white boat.

Harry stands behind her now and shuts the hatch easily. She looks at him warily, confused by his silence. He extends his hand to her this time and she takes it. He leads her to the front of his boat. They’re moving, but so slowly you’d barely notice. There’s a loveseat of sorts right at the front and Harry sets her down in it. She smiles at him with caution, still bewildered. He leans against a part of the boat that stands in front of the seat.

“It’s beautiful, right?” He asks.

Her eyes have been looking around her, but they’ve mostly been trained on Harry. She was mesmerized by him now. His music, his boat, his clothes, his everything. She was seeing him in a new light. In a completely brand new way that had her unable to take her eyes off of him.

She nods finally when Harry looks at her expectantly. “It’s amazing,” she breathes.

His smile is the half-sided grin again. Beautiful big teeth on display with a little part of space between them. His dimple pops out and once again her eyes are on his face. She realized going on this boat with Harry might not have been such a good idea.  

He folds his arms, her eyes flicker down. Every movement he makes, she doesn’t want to miss it. Even if she also is telling her mind to shake it off, she can’t. It’s like a spell.

“Obviously Anna is a pseudonym,” he says finally, eyes watching where the boat was taking him. She nods in approval. He pauses, watching the little waves, but she knows he has more to say.

“What did you think of the rest of it?” He asks quietly, gaze never going back to her. He knew she’d teased him a little and had danced along to some. She’d looked at him with wide eyes at some lyrics, but he wanted to know what she really thought.

She can tell he’s nervous, but she doesn’t understand why. They were all very good songs, his voice was beautiful, the lyrics were interesting. She didn’t understand his lack of confidence. His first time not exhibiting his usual self-assured - self-absorbed, even - personality. She bites her lip in confusion and his brows knit together, further showing his apprehension. The wrinkles in his forehead show up more prominently and she’s reminded that Harry is 26. He’s a different person now then he was back when he recorded that demo. Maybe there was a reason he kept them on the boat. She felt unsure in her response now.

“They were all great, Harry.” His face softens immediately. “Each one was beautifully written and sung. The ones that were acoustic sounded wonderful as did the ones with your whole band. I’m honored to be someone who got to hear those masterpieces.”

She wanted to tell them they should be famous songs, but she had a feeling that might not have the effect on him that she wanted. He had chosen a little quiet life in the little border town. She didn’t think he would want to hear how his music could have made it big time.

“Thank you,” he murmurs, just about the sounds of the sea. He lets a closed mouth smile twist onto his face, but it feels like he doesn’t fully believe her. She wants to kiss his worry away, but again, she knows it’s not possible. His words from earlier rang in her head. It would make things weird. Yeah, you’re right. Ugh, why had she agreed. She didn’t agree, not at all, not anymore.

“Did you have a favorite?” He stands up straighter with his question.

She laughs slightly, “I liked the second to last one a lot. It was hot.”

“Hot how?” He steps closer, smirking.

She jumps up from her reclined seat, in indignation, “Oh come on, you know it’s hot. Now you’re just looking for me to stroke your ego! It’s obviously about sex.”

“And? You’re the one who’s saying it’s your favorite and blushing.” He arches a brow at her, arms going to his hips and looking at her teasingly.

“Well, you’re the one who was singing about sucking dick and dreaming of how someone rode you.”

“Is that what it’s about?” His voice raises as he purses his lips and raises both of his brows.

She realizes just how worked up he’s gotten her in such a short amount of time. She huffs and turns away from him with a flick of her hand. “You’re infuriating.” Is all she can say. She looks out at the waves now, ignoring Harry even though he’s less than a foot away.

He’s laughing behind her for a little. Then when she doesn’t turn around, he quiets and she’s not quite sure where he’s gone. Then his breath fans over her neck and right shoulder, where her jacket hasn’t managed to cover her. It’s warm and a little minty as the scent travels over the salty sea air. She doesn’t turn or move a muscle for that matter.

A hand reaches out to her shoulder, but still she makes no move to turn. It rests there for a minute and she simply huffs again, letting her shoulders rise and fall dramatically. A single laugh slips from Harry’s mouth.

“C’mon diavola, don’t be like that. S’all in good fun.” His voice is low in her ear, sultry even. It reminds her of his voice in that song once he got into it. His voice sounds like sex in her ear and this time when she sighs it’s not because she’s irritated with him. No, she wants him. The sigh has an undercurrent of that desire and she hopes Harry doesn’t understand that. But otherwise she stays quiet, letting him murmur into her ear with his hand on her shoulder and his chest pressed to her back now. The only witness of this exchange is the ocean before them.

His head leans closer and if she didn’t know any better it felt like he was about to press a kiss to her neck. Instead all she feels is the brush of his mustache, it tickles the shell of her ear and she can’t keep in the giggle. She twists away from the sensation and Harry is grinning at her when she faces him.

His hand still on her shoulder and his body still pressed close to hers. He’s so warm and so close and so shiny new in her eyes, even if he still manages to irritate her. Her eyes flicker up to his as their laughter quiets down. She realizes her own hands have gone to his waist to steady herself and she follows his feet as he backs them up from the edge of the boat that she had brought them too.

It’s quiet again. They’re staring at each other intently. Her eyes are swirling with emotion because she just wants to know what’s going on in the brain of the man before her. She wants to know everything about him, but she knows that’s not how he feels about her. Sure, they’re friends now, but nothing else.

Why did she have to come on this stupid boat and find his stupid amazing music? Why did he have such a stupid amazing face?

These questions and other silly things were racing around her head as she gripped his waist. He didn’t mind her quietness, he found her gaze to be a little unnerving, but he was just glad he had made her laugh. He found that he didn’t enjoy her anger at him as much anymore.

Just as he was about to start another conversation, there was a cloud that drifted over the shining sun. It was her original fear come to life. Harry’s brows furrowed as he looked up at the clouds. They were turning grey. Fast.

“Shit, shit, shit,” He began mumbling and released his hand from her shoulder. He pulled away from her hold and began moving swiftly around the boat. He needed to get them off the water, there was a storm coming.

Her eyes went wide as she noticed the approaching storm as well. Her brows furrowed with worry as she watched Harry begin working on the boat, his only words being curses to himself at first.

Then he enlists her help, asking her to hold onto a specific part of the boat for him after he threw her a life vest and made her put it on. She wore it with great dissatisfaction. He only shrugged as he continued to move nimbly around the boat, turning them around, back to the dock.  

The boat moved much swifter into the shore than it had on their way out. The waves were growing choppier by the minute and she would admit she was more than a little scared. Thankfully, Harry knew what he was doing and got them there quickly and safely. Once at the dock, he tied them there and then helped her off the boat. She stood on the dock uncomfortably as the rain started to come down.

“Give me your lifevest!” He gestures from the boat.

She quickly takes it off and flinches when the first bout of thunder sounds from far off. He takes it from her and throws it haphazardly down the hatch along with his own before jumping off the boat himself. He surveys the boat from the dock to make sure he hasn’t forgotten anything. Then he looks at her. She’s wrapped her arms around herself and is ducking her head, looking like she’s attempting to ward off rain but failing miserably.

She looks up at him and he offers a soft smile of reassurance.

“Take my hand!” He shouts slightly over the growing sound of rain and thunder. He wants to get them out of the rain, but he’s also apprehensive to leave his boat to the mercy of the weather. Still, that’s all he can do.

She puts her hand in his and his fingers weave with hers. Then, they’re off racing back to their street in the little border town.

-

“I should go back to my place!”

“Don’t be silly! France is much too far for you to go in this weather!”

She laughs and grips his hand tighter as he fumbles for his key. His wet hand slipping as the rain droplets soak their clothes and skin. Even though her door is a mere few feet away she allows Harry to pull her into his shop. The warmth and dryness appreciated after running a few blocks in the now torrential downpour. There weren’t storms often in the little border town, but like the old adage said ‘when it rained, it poured’ quite literally. The less she had to travel in the rain the happier she was, even if it was three measly feet.

It also occurred to her that she’d be able to sit out her first storm with someone by her side. And she would admit that didn’t sound like the worst thing in the world. She wasn’t necessarily a fan of storms and being in a new place with a storm she’d never weathered before was daunting. Harry inviting her in was a blessing. She didn’t have to be asked twice.

Once inside the little shop, their wet frames begin to form puddles beneath themselves. Harry sighs and takes off up his rickety stairs. She looks after him in confusion but stays put when he calls a quick “Wait there!”

She shakes a bit of the rain from her and shivers as she listens for Harry’s movements barely audible above the crashing of the rain water. When he returns, her breath catches in her throat, like she just choked on something, yet there’s nothing.

As he walks down the steps, far slower now, his wet hair shakes out around his head forming some ethereal halo. The light from upstairs illuminates him and the darkness outside casts an ominous darkness as he descends.

“Un ange…” She whispers after finally catching her breath.

If he hears her, it doesn’t matter. He’s already beginning to smile widely just from seeing Y/N before him.

He skips the last step and crosses to her swiftly. “Let’s get you dried a little more,” he begins to dote. A matching smile spreads on Y/N’s face out of appreciation. She still can’t manage to fend off the shivering and Harry’s smile falters. His hands leave the towel and trace her exposed skin. Her cheek feels like ice, only slightly warming under his touch.

“You need dry clothes,” he mumbles.

Her eyes widen as she looks up at him. He’s so close and so attentive and she wants to ask him to kiss her because they’ve been going back and forth all day, but he’s right she’s freezing. His eyes are so intense though she can’t even maintain eye contact. Instead her gaze flits up to the droplet beginning to swell down one of his rogue strands of hair that flopped over his forehead moments ago.

She doesn’t respond as she watches and Harry begins to worry more. Her eyes seemingly unfocused, her shivering, and her silence. He thumbs over the apple of her cheekbone and finally breaks her reverie. The droplet splashing between them without her as its audience.

“C’mon,” he tugs her hand now to bring her upstairs.

[ankhisms]

the always wonderful shelley @shanheling tagged me to do this thank u so much!! i think that everyone i wanted to tag has already been tagged to do this but if you feel like doing this feel free to consider urself tagged by me!! im putting this under a readmore bc its long and i ramble a lot

the piece i was tagged to explain my process on is this oc piece! unfortunately i have a habit of deleting my original clip studio file once ive finished my art and saved it as a new png file, so i dont have the file to show the sketch and different stages of this piece. but I still can go through my general process and talk about how i did that piece!

1. planning

honestly i think about the art that i want to do a lot, and in this last year or so ive thought about the art i want to do more than ive been able to actually create and finish that art that i want to do. for my planning i tend to do a lot of different thumbnail sketches for the art im thinking of

these are some examples of thumbnails, a lot of times ill do thumbnails just on pencil and paper and with some of these theyre done quickly with my fingers on my phone note function on a day where i was feeling too bad to get up and draw on paper but still wanted to get the thumbnail ideas down. two of these are for the same songxiao piece that i still havent finished and i have more thumbnails digitally on clip studio for the same piece, i do a lot more thumbnails when a piece isnt working the way i want it to and theres times where ill completely scratch a thumbnail or a sketch and start over in order to do more thumbnails because i dont feel happy with some aspect of it.

two of these are small gouche painting thumbnails for two pieces i did maybe a month or so ago, i did the thumbnails and then tried to expand on them digitally and im wanting to do more thumbnail paintings like this in the future because it was fun

for the piece of my oc trio it was based off a series of ask prompts i got for a few different outfit prompt memes i had reblogged, so i based their outfits on the ones in the meme. when im drawing figures i tend to try and get the movement down in the poses when im sketching, i do several rough sketches of the pose before beginning to start setting down lines (if im doing lineart at all because sometimes i dont like doing lineart and do a more lineless painting kind of style). i really try to get my art to convey some kind of emotion, in the oc piece i wanted it to feel fun and like youre seeing three best friends while theyre out on the town having a fun night

2. creating

this is the only real example i have of a piece in the middle of being filled in and created, this piece is one that im really not very happy with & have had lying around for a while and ill probably scrap it and try to come at it from a different perspective at some point. but anyway it still shows what i do, i lay down a kind of neutral gray color underneath my final sketch/lineart if im doing lineart in that piece and then i start picking out the colors that i want for the piece and kind of setting out a pallette for myself. i dont do this color pallette thing 100% of the time but i do it really often, especially if im working on a commission or a larger piece where i know theres going to be a lot of colors or if its a piece where im not sure exactly what color scheme i want so laying out the colors together helps me kind of decide what kind of scheme i want. i am sooooo picky about my colors in my art i am genuinely obsessed with colors in art and there are times where i really have to stop myself from working on something forever just constantly adding more colors or putting little tiny changes and gradients in the colors.

after ive got the colors i want down i tend to try and block out parts of the piece with the base color for that section, and then i start to paint with the colors that i want to go on top of that base color from there.

once im satisfied with the colors/shading/rendering and everything ill go back and look over things and will fix things that look off or sometimes completely redo segments if they dont look right to me. when i was younger and mainly doing digital art using my phone and my fingers i would use a lot of filters and overlays on top of my art once i was done, and honestly im glad to not be doing that anymore because i dont think it made my art look any better. i do color adjustments and sometimes will put on a color overlay or a layer to emphasize the shadows and the light in the piece, but i try to keep those layers to a minimum and like i said before i have a tendency to obsess over the colors and ill spend a good amount of time in the color adjustment tool of clip studio and then ill just decide "actually it looks fine as it is" so yeah!

3. posting

i feel like i dont have a lot to say here gbfm i mean i honestly have a lot of thoughts about the relationship between artists and social media and how social media changes our views on art including our own art and how we can feel like we constantly need to be posting new art and just become content machines churning out new stuff. but ill save that rant for another time. i used to be really concerned about how many notes my art would get when i was younger, and i dont at all blame anyone who still is very concerned about that bc it sucks when u work hard on something youve created and then you dont get a lot of recognition for it, but honestly within the last two years or so i feel like ive begun to have a lot healthier relationship with posting my art. i really just post my art on my art blog, reblog it to my main blog, and then thats that yknow! i do really appreciate any and all support people give me, it means the world to me, but for me having the mentality where i dont need to post all the art i make and i dont need to be posting every day or every week or every month even has been a lot healthier for me because then im not constantly asking myself why didnt this get notes is my art awful??? and yeah i just kind of post it and my brain goes okay were done with that art we gotta make more

ive honestly been struggling a lot with art thru the pandemic and if youre reading this and have been struggling with creating in any way recently or even before the pandemic, please know theres no shame in having trouble creating and it doesnt make you bad at whatever it is u create!

thank you for reading this, feel free to consider urself tagged by me again if u want to do this!! love u all

[oldserah]

First vs Last - Old Vs New

Thank you for Tagging me! @refinedstorage

Rules: you choose one of your first art (even if you don’t like them) and one of your lastest art. Don’t forget to specify the years when you drew them and you can even write what, when and why these pics were drawn! Oh, and make sure you tag your fav artists!

Normally this should be one piece of each but I decided i wanted to demonstrate the difference between my first ever digital sketch to my latest, aswell as compare the old and new more completed pieces!

1] The drawing was made on march 12th 2014 so it’s nearly 7 years old! I Got into Drawing Digitally because my Friends at the time where doing it and i always enjoyed traditonal art and wanted to do Art in the future [though not as a job because it wasnt substainable *laughs in Game art and Design Uni Student*].

Unlike my Mates I didnt have a Tablet and i Didnt have any Drawing Programmes, so I used ‘DeviantART Muro’ [a drawing thing they have’ and i Used my Mouse. I remember it was horrible to Use and i compared myself alot to other artists and my friends [still do] and it Discouraged me for a few months from trying again.

2] a crop of a Sketch I made a few Day’s Ago, I Use a Wacom Cintiq currently and while i should be using photoshop [because industry standard and all] I Mainly use Sai because i am comfortable with it’s features and my Brush’s [and photoshop is still very confusing to draw in for me] I Still have alot to learn In my Art if i ever wish to use it in the Industry, but i think im making improvements even if its slowly and small improvements.

1] This Piece was Made 5 months After my First Sketch, Still Using the Art Programme ‘DeviantART Muro’ and a mouse. I move ontop Gimp in August, and Sai in December before i Got the Wacom intous for christmas. I was really proud of the piece at the time because i had improved since i first started trying art drastically, i was starting to get the hang of blending and was attempting to move away from just Portrait art.

2] Last full Piece I finished at the End of 2020 It Demonstrated the Current style i use in my art and the love i have for lil lighting effect’s in it. However outside of the lighting, truthfully im not the biggest fan of the shading style. It’s not very accurate as i often dont consider how light would bounce of a person [as i do my lighting last] and just go for looks good / would make sense to a degree. It isnt the worst but i often struggle with how i would adapt the style further / replicate it in other programmes outside of sai!

I added the Picture above because it’s what i consider still my Peak of art and where I’ve fallen since then. This was made in 2016 and was durning the time period i finally releart / got a grasp on what brushes i needed and how to replicate the old blended art i used to make. While the anatomy was never good I envy what i was able to do here and that i havent been able to replicate it since.

I dont know if any other artists suffer this, but when i change an art programme, get or use a new tablet, or take a long period of from drawing, I basically have to Re learn how to draw and can be indicated by changes in my style. I cannot replicate the art on the cintiq i used to make on the intous. I lost all my brushes when i got a new pc on sai and dont even have the tools to make this type of art anymore because i used the brushes that came with the sai crack and cant find them again. I even get this when I use my Uni computers and Tablet. It’s very frustrating, But i wonder if anyone else experiences this!?

Honestly i Dont know whoses done it or not or who to tag so i’ll just Tag: @dep-yo-tee​

[hazelenergy]

How I Digitally Paint like a Scenic Artist/Designer

Aka: how I did this and put my degree to good use. 

LONG POST WARNING

Step 1: Research. 

First off, get to your image search. If you are going to be using Google, you may want to type “-pinterest” in the search to eliminate the countless boards. 

I had to figure out clothing that is vaguely late 1800s. I found a multitude of reference images that were fancier clothes- but I wanted to find images of clothing for kindred across all social classes. Photographs from the era and paintings are your friend. They will more accurately showcase what was worn. 

After Fashion research comes location research. The 1890s in America is known for the rapid industrialization. Factories were getting bigger and work days were getting longer. But, I wanted the moonlight to be cascading into the place, illuminating the scene. This means I needed to find a structure that had skylights or let sunlight in. And the best images I found? Slaughterhouses. Fitting, huh?

The same rule for fashion still stands- if you can find photographs or paintings from the era- they’re better. There are tons of places still standing today from the 1800s. But today, they look WAY different. Ya know, Abandoned! So just be sure to take this into consideration if you search “abandoned slaughterhouses” or go trespassing like I did.

Lastly, pose research. Finding the poses for a fight scene can be tedious. So, I enlisted some help from a few fight choreographers and stunt men. You can record their fights and play them back at quarter or half speed. You can also get a mirror and flop on the floor a bunch. I did both. This lets you see the action/motion lines you are going to replicate in the drawing.  Heres how we initially did fina’s pose:

And sometimes you have to go back and get a clean shot. I ended up using this pose for the axe.

Step 2: Set up and Background!

When you open a new file, set it to the dimensions and resolution you want. I was working at 600. Usually, I’m working at 300-350. You can always reduce resolution. Its hard to prevent fuzzy lines if you increase it later. 

I cannot stress the following enough:

You work background to foreground. Big Shapes and areas to little shapes. Work your way forward. What this means is you need to fill in as much space as possible first. Then build your details. I prefer working as follows: Big Solid tones, Soft shadows, Dark Shadows, Highlights, then final blend. Once you finish this, put an overlay on top. This knocks everything back and helps create the illusion of depth. See this at work with the video below or here

Step 3: Figure Drawings + Composition

Utilize that research and images you collected to pose your characters. I create subfolders for each set of figures. Organization is important here. This will help keep you on the right layer and prevent the eternal digital artist struggle of “Fuck that was on the wrong layer!”

Even after you move on to lineart and shading, Keep the sketch layer as a reference. You may need to see what youre original notes/ figures looked like as you do the lineart and shade. Don’t be afraid to move them around and alter the composition rn. You want to be able to make changes. Make notes! Detail light sources! 

I’m about to through out some art jargon:

You want to think about asymmetric balance. The easiest way to achieve this in an eye-pleasing manner is to use the Fibonacci spiral. Yeah. This boi:

Place your figures and actions in a similar sequence to the spiral and the viewer’s eye tends to naturally follow it. This is sometimes called the Golden Ratio in the art world. 

Doesn’t need to be perfectly on the spiral. You can break it- but its an excellent tool to plan how things move in the piece. 

Step 4: Lineart

Once you got things sketched- its time to do the lineart. I’m using clip studio paint’s standard brushes. Nothing fancy. I often switch between the G-pen and the For Effect Liner. Mapping and Turnip are for thicker lines. 

Usually I set these pens to a specific thickness depending on where I’m drawing.

My background figures are lined at 0.05 thickness, the midground is .1 to .2, Fina is .3 and the foreground is .4. I set my stabilization high to help keep my lines smooth. Stabilization 100 means there’s a significant delay between where the pen is and the cursor. I like the stabilization to be at 20 for freehanding and at 50 ish for outlining. Dont become completely reliant on the stabilization though. Good and smooth lineart is drawn from the arm not the wrist. Your range of motion is severely limited if you only move your wrist. Practice moving from your elbow and you’ll be surprised how much smoother your lines get. 

Once I finish lining the figures, I usually go around it with an outline. This does three things: 

1. Solidifies the figure and cleans lineart for paint bucket tool. More on that in the next step.

2. Its a stylistic choice. Helps give it that comic book feel with a heavy outline. 

3. Pushes figures forward or back in the composition. Thicker outline helps denote that a figure is farther forward than another. My background figures have no outline to push them away 

Step 5: Digitally coloring

For each figure you are going to select outside the lineart. 

Create a new layer under the lineart

Invert the selection. Paint bucket. You should now have a solid shape of the figure under the lineart. Do not deselect.

Create a new layer above the one color. Title it solid colors. Paint in thick, solid tones. I like to use the mapping pen and turnip pen to color in my solid tones: skin, clothing, hair, etc.  

After that, deselect. Create a multiply layer if you can. If your program does not have a multiplier function, Pick a tone you want to use for shadows and lower the opacity (usually 30-40% I like to use lavenders or blue tones). It will not be as vibrant, but you can edit it in post. Select off of the solid colors layer. I like to start with skin tones. Use the airbrush tool to create soft shadows. You don’t want to create harsh lines on this layer.

Then repeat this process with harsh lines.  

Then knock it all back with an overlay. If you dont have the ability to create an overlay, you can again drop a solid color and lower the opacity, but you’ll have to mess with the color balance/ brightness/contrast to let all the hard work come through. 

You’re going to repeat this for every single figure. Here’s a few color theory tips though.

Your overlay colors should be darker (not more vibrant) in the foreground and lighter (avoid using pure white) in the background. This helps with the depth of the piece. Things closer tend to be darker (not always true, depends on lighting)

You can choose to use color theory to aid your shadows. Instead of choosing black or grey for shadows, choose a complimentary color. I used a lot of green for this piece, I used red for really dark shadows. Its not that black drains color- its just loses some depth if not used carefully. 

Keep your colors consistent. Helps unify the piece. You can strategically break the consistency to draw focus. For example, Fina is the only figure with a true blue overlay. This helps her stand out from the other figures who have reds and greens. 

Step 6: Touch Ups and Final Renderings

Now comes the most tedious part. If you’re like me, your computer fans have been whirring for the last few hours trying to render this monster of a file. If you havent already,  SAVE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS GOOD

These are the last four layers I have for the entire piece. Here, I am trying to create effective and believable lighting. This kind of work I have only been able to achieve in clip studio or photoshop. You can do it with normal layers, but choose your colors CAREFULLY. Stay away from pure white. Carefully utilize your knowledge of light and shadow to create soft highlights. Harsh lines tend to be a stylistic choice for me. The final layer, subtract, dulls out harsh red tones. I used this as a final overlay to help put everyone and everything in the scene. Without it, things are a little too green and skin tones are a little too blushed for vampires.

The challenge here is I want to tone down the red, but not lose the vibrancy of the blood. So, shift it to a blue. This also helped reinforce the “nighttime” effect. Its only a slight change.

Final thoughts:

Whenever you finish something, its important to reflect.

1. I am so FUCKING PROUD OF MYSELF. This is easily one of the most complicated pieces I’ve done in a while- and I’ve made 16′ tall faux stained glass. Brag. Let yourself feel awesome cuz you just made something awesome. 

2. I timed myself on the piece. I could have easily spent another 7 hours on it. But its important to know when to stop messing with it. Partially for budget reasons but also when you get down to the details you can make yourself go insane. Theres also a ton of detail work I lost cuz of overlays or its just too small to notice. Fina’s face? hard to see cuz its not close enough. 

3. I needed to take frequent breaks for this piece. That was good. Resting and stretching was very important. That is one of the reasons why I was able to work so fast. 

4. I started doing more digital art in April 2020. I have to say, practice makes perfect. I practice drawing and digital painting for at least 3 hours a day. 

That discipline has allowed me to improve so rapidly. So- I don’t wanna hear shit about I can’t possibly get this good! Or I couldn’t even draw a stick figure! BULLSHIT. You can. Get yourself some free software like Krita or Autodesk sketchbook and start playing! 

And thats what I got! Thanks for coming with me on this long post! 

[burclay]

Time, Space, and Texting: Chapter 2

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: THIS IS A SPACESHIP

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: WE’RE FOUR DAYS’ TRAVEL FROM THE TARDIS 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: On the other hand, General Eve Cicero is here 😍😍😍 what a legend!

AO3 Chapter 1

RyanS: GUYS I’M SO BORED

RyanS: WERE STUCK IN THIS WEIRD HOSPITAL AND THE DOCTORS NOT AWAKE

yaz01: is now really the time ryan

RyanS: YES

bad-wolf-girl: is the doctor okay?

yaz01: the medics say she’ll be fine. we got hit with some sort of weird space bomb but these people are taking care of us.

Graham O’Brien: Are we really texting right now?

yaz01: that’s what i said.

The Captain: When you say weird space bomb…

Graham O’Brien: I think one of the medics said “sonic mine.”

RyanS: theyre trying to find our medtags now. taking bets on how long it takes them to realize we havent got any

The Captain: A sonic mine? You know how lucky you are to be alive, right?

RyanS: picking up on it yeah

yaz01: hold on a sec, dr’s awake

DoctorJones: In the meantime, I’ve finally convinced Mickey to check his phone.

mickeyrick: hey, it’s been a while. heard there’s a new doctor. or however that works.

RyanS: might want to read up a bit

yaz01: ryan! get off your phone!

RyanS: you’re on your phone!

yaz01: only to get your attention! come on!

bad-wolf-girl: so we’ll just assume they’re busy, then

bad-wolf-girl: anyone meet any cool aliens lately?

cyberbill: heather and i went to a planet that was nothing but ocean. pretty cool.

oswin: you two are made of water or something, right?

oswin: suppose you were right at home there

cyberbill: yeah pretty much.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: THIS IS A SPACESHIP

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: WE’RE FOUR DAYS’ TRAVEL FROM THE TARDIS 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: On the other hand, General Eve Cicero is here 😍😍😍 what a legend!

The Captain: Whoa, really?

The Captain: *The* Eve Cicero? Named in the Book of Celebrants?

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: The very one!

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Anyway, got to go, I’m walking.

yaz01: while she’s doing that. cyberbill, did you say you’re made of water?

cyberbill: just bill. and long story, but yeah

RyanS: i give up making sense of you lot

yaz01: sometime i’d like to hear the long story!

cyberbill: well, sounds like you all are going to have time to read, at least. four days away from the tardis and all that.

RyanS: yeah n now the doctor’s gone off who knows where so we dont even have her whole crisis to deal with

cyberbill: i don’t even know where to start. to be honest, i’m not sure i even understand it all. but my crush got taken by this sort of water thing, and then i was a cyberman for a bit, and next thing i knew i was water.

cyberbill: heather says it’s all just atoms. she’s better with all this than i am

cyberbill: someday i’ll add her in here. don’t know if she’d say much.

The Captain: We’re all dying to meet her.

cyberbill: or *you’re* dying to meet her

oswin: oi, i’m already dying. don’t add this into it!

yaz01: you’re dying?

oswin: long story

yaz01: you all keep saying that

oswin: fair enough. basically i’m frozen in the moment right before i died. but i can still move around. so i’ve stolen a tardis and i’m running around in it now

RyanS: im beginning to understand how the doctor picks her friends

RyanS: ur all completely mad

oswin: not sure what that says about you, then

RyanS: oh i’ll accept me being mad too, that’s fine

johnsmith42: nothing wrong with a bit of madness!

bad-wolf-girl: says the man who reconfigured our entire television to not use the color green

johnsmith42: I don’t like green! what’s wrong with that?

bad-wolf-girl: everything shows in shades of red and blue now

bad-wolf-girl: good thing i figured out how to encase my laptop in dalekanium

bad-wolf-girl: for all their faults, Daleks are pretty good at indestructible metal

johnsmith42: for the record, I would NEVER mess with your laptop

yaz01: daleks?

oswin: oh boy

johnsmith42: VERY dangerous aliens. do NOT approach.

bad-wolf-girl: i’m sure you’ll meet one someday. they tend to pop up around the doctor.

yaz01: why?

bad-wolf-girl: that’s really her story to tell, sorry

yaz01: fair enough, i guess.

RyanS: glad ur computers safe

bad-wolf-girl: yeah me too

mickeyrick: so i finished reading up. sounds like you’re having a bit of a time.

mickeyrick: when the doctor gets back tell her i like her jacket

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: I’m back! 👋

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Oh, hello, Mickey! Thanks! 🤗

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Anyway, there’s something *very bad* going on. 👎😱👾😲

Graham O’Brien: And you’re spending time picking out emojis?

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Doesn’t take that long! 😡😡😡

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: ANYWAY. Something’s on board and it’s killed Astos. Ryan, Graham, Yaz, be careful.

RyanS: wed better go find her hadnt we

yaz01: yep

DoctorJones: Be safe!

bad-wolf-girl: good luck!

mickeyrick: i’m remembering why i never come in this chat

mickeyrick: my life might be dangerous but at least it makes sense

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Anyone know anything about something called a “Pting?”

bad-wolf-girl: you have a pting on your ship?

bad-wolf-girl: we came across one of those a few years back

bad-wolf-girl: didn’t exactly go very well

bad-wolf-girl: i’m sure you’ll be fine though

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: That’s not encouraging!!! 😱

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: We’re looking it up in the ship’s systems 😬

bad-wolf-girl: all you need to know is it eats *everything*

bad-wolf-girl: and its skin is toxic

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: 😱😱😱

The Captain: oh, boy

The Captain: Doctor, I’m going to need you to check in with us frequently until this one’s over

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Will do.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Got to think. What do we do???

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: THE SHIP’S GOT A BOMB IN IT 😱

johnsmith42: what???

The Captain: well, that’s a check-in, I suppose

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: It’s a Tsuranga ship, there’s a self-destruct in case anything happens that makes the ship a danger to the planet on which it lands.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: But we are NOT going to be a danger!

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: We are going to SOLVE THIS.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: So the bomb is really unfair!

bad-wolf-girl: too bad life isn’t fair i guess

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Oi!!! You shut up!!!

bad-wolf-girl: 😘

Amy: hey everybody! what’s up!

bad-wolf-girl: doctor’s in danger, the rest of us are laughing at her to hide our worry

Amy: must be Tuesday

bad-wolf-girl: pretty much

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: AMY! Hi Amy!

Amy: hey, doctor!

Amy: oh, never mind. looks like you have bigger things to do than talk in this groupchat

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: I’m procrastinating 😔😓 can’t think of a plan!!! 😬😬😬 Don’t worry, I’ll get there!

yaz01: doctor, we’re on our way back

yaz01: have you been talking to your friends this *whole time*?

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Don’t worry! I almost have a plan!

yaz01: i can’t believe i trust you with my life!

Amy: but you do…

Amy: it’s a trap we all fall into

Amy: side note, but is this version of the Doctor somehow more of a mess than the last two?

johnsmith42: *definitely* more of a mess than me.

bad-wolf-girl: keep telling yourself that 😘

johnsmith42: I will, thanks.

RyanS: ABOUT TO HELP DELIVER A MANS BABY WISH US LUCK

Amy: ???????

The Captain: Good luck!

bad-wolf-girl: good luck!

Amy: what happened to the alien?

cyberbill: something tells me they might be a little too busy to talk right now

oswin: good luck!

oswin: oops i’m too late

yaz01: THERE’S NO INTERNET TUTORIAL FOR STAZING A PTING

oswin: are those real words?

oswin: you’ve got to be careful. i swear the doctor likes to just make up words.

bad-wolf-girl: i second that.

bad-wolf-girl: i still make up words for everything i don’t understand and i blame him...

bad-wolf-girl: marrying his clone can’t have helped.

johnsmith42: oh, you love me

bad-wolf-girl: 😘😘😘

oswin: careful… use that many emojis at once and you’ll get confused for the doctor

bad-wolf-girl: lol

DoctorJones: Hold on… is everyone all right?

oswin: seems like the jury’s out

oswin: i’m fine tho

DoctorJones: Ryan, do you need help? I’m an *actual* doctor on Earth.

yaz01: not sure human medicine is entirely applicable

yaz01: but there’s a medic doing the heavy lifting, don’t worry

yaz01: ryan and graham are being doulas

yaz01: OH SHLJKKDSA

DoctorJones: Yaz?

bad-wolf-girl: everything all right?

oswin: what happened?

Amy: yaz???

yaz01: sorry yeah everything’s fine

yaz01: just drop kicked a pting nothing to see here

yaz01: dropped my phone mid-message

yaz01: sorry about that

DoctorJones: Glad you’re all right.

yaz01: yeah me too

yaz01: but no time to talk drs here

oswin: good luck

oswin: side note i just found a planet with six-headed lizards

cyberbill: what, you mean like the hydra?

oswin: yeah!

oswin: think they came to earth and inspired the ancient greeks?

Amy: doubt it

Amy: anyone can think up a many-headed dragon

oswin: true enough. anyway i’m going to go explore. ttyl

Amy: have fun!

mickeyrick: anyone else *really worried* about this whole alien-spaceship situation?

Amy: they’ll get out of it

DoctorJones: The Doctor does have a knack for getting out of these sorts of things. I’m sure they’ll be fine.

bad-wolf-girl: doesn’t always end well though

Amy: she’s had time to come up with a plan now

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Hi everybody I’m brilliant!

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Pting ate the bomb and now all we have to do is get the ship to Resus One, and then we can go right on back to the TARDIS.

Amy: told you!

bad-wolf-girl: nice!!!

RyanS: this babys so cute i might cry

Graham O’Brien: Not because of the heartwarming conversation you just had or anything.

RyanS: no its just really cute

RyanS: im serious its so little

RyanS: did you know they make people that little

RyanS: its fingers

RyanS: are tiny

yaz01: ryan have you ever seen a baby before

RyanS: leave me alone yaz!!!

DoctorJones: Is the dad doing all right?

RyanS: yeah hes fine

RyanS: hes gonna be such a good dad

RyanS: but thats not why i might cry i swear

RyanS: (grahams looking at me funny :-( )

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Bad news. General Cicero is dead.

Graham O’Brien: Oh, goodness.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: We’re going to be holding a funeral in the engine room. Ryan, Graham, do you think Yoss will want to come?

RyanS: ill ask

RyanS: he says yes

Graham O’Brien: Be there in a moment, Doc.

The Captain: Quite a loss.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: I know. 😢

DoctorJones: May she rest in peace.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: She lived a good life.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Died saving us.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: She had pilot’s heart. Knew she had pilot’s heart. Took over control of the ship anyway.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: All the emojis in my name are seeming really inappropriate right about now. 😢😢😢

bad-wolf-girl: i’m sorry doctor

Amy: I’ll add her to the list.

Amy: General Eve Cicero?

yaz01: the list?

bad-wolf-girl: when people die we add them to a list

bad-wolf-girl: we make a point of remembering them every so often

bad-wolf-girl: roughly once a year in the timeline of whoever’s holding the list

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: General Eve Cicero is right.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Also add Astos.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: He was the medic who died.

Amy: got it

<document: the list>

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Thanks, Amy. 💙

Amy: no problem

yaz01: wait, how often do people die??? this is a *long* list

bad-wolf-girl: this is over the course of maybe a thousand years in the doctor’s timeline

bad-wolf-girl: it’s a dangerous life, yaz

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: I’m sorry. I did warn you.

yaz01: yeah i know

yaz01: took me by surprise i guess

The Captain: General Cicero is 116th century, right?

The Captain: from Keeba?

The Captain: I know those funeral rites

The Captain: they’re beautiful

The Captain: I hope they carry her well

bad-wolf-girl: what’re they like?

The Captain: Keeba’s a solar system full of voyagers

The Captain: there wasn’t any life there until it got developed

The Captain: so their rituals and ceremonies assume every religion is real and has value.

The Captain: it depends on which planet she’s from and where her family’s from

The Captain: but they tend to involve everyone standing in a circle and speaking together.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: That’s exactly right. We had her android consort lead.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: She’s been laid to proper rest now. Among the stars. 🌠

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: And we’re almost to Resus One, which’ll teleport us back to the TARDIS.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Not sure my ectospleen’ll ever be the same, though.

RyanS: not sure your ectospleens our biggest concern

yaz01: i think she just fell asleep

johnsmith42: well, she’s clearly had a long day.

Graham O’Brien: I’ll say. I’m about to fall asleep myself.

RyanS: you do that

RyanS: im gonna go see if yoss will let me hold his baby brb

[15001700tt]

Mix And Match

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6.

Part 3

After the wedding, i moved to his castle since it was more convenient. Since then i became more acquainted with his home. Occasionally i do get lost but one of his brothers or mates are always around and they help me find my way back.

It was the day where my cousins and I get to meet the remaining two guys. They have been so involved in the war that they had no time to come by. But it was understandable it was getting worse each day, and i could sense it brewing without werewolf heightened senses.

Jong In was also getting restless each night having to wake at the crack of dawn to finish some planning. The dark circles under his eyes get deeper as the days go on i am surprised he hasnt passed out. I brought it up to his attention but he always dismisses it and says hell catch up on sleep later. I dont believe him. But i cant do anything because he wont let me.

The warwas getting on my nerves and i was ready to fly over there and end the war myself. Today is much needed as anyone can see, i am very tense and grumpy and the girls havent had time to talk to me and are getting whisked away by their parents for possible suitors back at home. Hyun Jin is devastated that she doesnt get to fall in love, and Ji Mi just refuses to marry a complete stranger.

As Jong In sat next to as we waited for our guests his head lolled to the side until it slumped against my shoulder. His deep breaths confirmed that he fell asleep. I rolled my eyes before moving him to lay against my lap for more comfort on his part since this is most likely the only nap he will get today or maybe for the next week.

The first one to arrive is Hyun Jin, she came in a grim expression. Her eyes settled on our position before her face lit up ad she awed at out ‘cuteness’

“He couldnt stay awake” i excused. She shook her at us before muttering, “i wouldnt either if i had a war in my backyard”

“Well how are you doing with the influx of suitors?” i asked worriedly.

“Facing an army of vampires doesnt seem that bad anymore” she groaned before she came and sat next to, i started running my hand through her hair while keeping one in Jong In’s.

“I know hun, i wish it was easier”

“Ji Mi literally just chased away the last one but my guy was more sticky that the last” she huffed in annoyance. The doors opened one more time while Hyun Jin was mid sentence, “and the worst thing is he wasnt even trying to be gentle, he was pushing me around and being a total dick. And mid way through he tried to touch me, i almost thre-” a growl erupted from the figure standing by the door.

That seemed to wake Jong In up and grab hold of me. I caressed his face to show him that i was fine, but clearly the man at the door wasnt.

“Baekhyun” Jong In’s voice rang clear in the room, while Hyun Jin’s was more a breathy sigh. I could tell the days events took a toll on her from the way her face looked, all pale and no light that usually shines.

In an instant Baekhyun was next Hyun Jin and looking intently into her eyes, eyes slightly red, before another snarl rippled from his throat scaring Hyun Jin a little bit that she jumped.

“Who dared to touch you?” that seemed to snap Jong In’s haze and immediately he came and restricted Baekhyun and whispered in his ear. He seemed calmed a bit, he closed his eyes before opening them to a golden hue in them, then finally their normal shade.

I knew what this meant, i couldn't help the small smile that creeped onto my lips, a small gasp escaping my lips when JongIn flopped down on my lap again.

“You Are comfortable.” his only excuse.

“Honey we have guests” i told him

“it s fine, those guests are going to get really comfortable, so should we” he mumbled against my legs. I chuckled, i looked up to see that Hyun Jin had moved up from her seat and was standing in front the calm man who had a gentle smile on his face.

I listened in to their conversation when i couldn't help my curiosity, no remorse felt because she spied on my first day of courting.

“I am guessing youre Yong Sang’s cousin” he smiled cheerfully, “i am Byun Baekhyun, One of Jong In’s closest friends and knights” he introduced.

“You are correct, i am Song Hyun Jin” she curtseyed at him while batting her eyelashes at him innocently. Somehow that lead to them furiously hugging, my small gasp caused Jong In to chuckle.

“They went straight to the point didn't they?”

“You should be sleeping” i playfully snapped at him.

“Dont you think Ji Mi and Kyungsoo are taking too much time to get here?” he questioned looking at the slightly ajar door.

“What do you mean?” Baekhyun’s voice cut through the thick haze that surrounded me and Hyun Jin.

“I mean that i can both their footsteps really close but they havent ever met each other and i want to see that” he grabbed my hand and pulled me off the chair and dragged me soundlessly towards the open door. Hyun Jin following behind me and Baekhyun at the end. As we rounded the corner we saw the pair just making eye contact.

3rd POV

Kyungsoo’s eyes flashed gold before turning normal brown once again, he finally found her, whoever she is. Although he was pretty good at guessing, she’s Yong Sang’s cousin, if she was heading this way and he had never seen her before. He needed confirmation thought, he feels as if hes grasping at thin straws.

“I uh i am Do Kyungsoo, head knight” he introduced awkwardly before letting a charing smile grace his lips.

“Song Ji Mi at your service” she responded with a soft voice. She was drained from the events of today, if she could just go to her bed and sleep she was sure she can deal with it tomorrow. She was exhausted to no point and this attractive knight wasnt helping her poor brain.

Of course she knew who he was, she saw his pictures everywhere and he was also the reason for her embarrassment in Yong Sang’s wedding. Her barely functioning brain had successfully led her down the right corridor but she still doubted.

“uhm-I-I do not know if i am going the right direction to the room, would please help me?” she asked with grace even she couldn't believe she mustered.

“I dont think thats a good idea,” he paused before getting closer to her whispering, “theyre eavesdropping at the end of the hall.” her eyes widened in shock.

“I suggest we go to the kitchen because you look like you could use a meal.” he offered.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she couldn't help but snap. “You are my mate” those simple words seemed to turn her whole world upside down, she stumbled back a step. He caught her.

“Are you ok?? You need to sit down” he held her up as he led her to the kitchen. Once they arrived he sat her down at the table. And rolled up his sleeves of the casual attire he wore.

“Wanna tell me about your day as i make you a delicious meal?” he suggested playfully, causing a small smile to bloom on her exhausted face.

“I chased away five suitors today, the last one was stubborn until i punched him right in the face, then he almost hit me,” she in took a breath to calm her frantic beating heart, also hearing a small growl leave his body frame. “Which would be bad for him because i am not trained like an assassin for nothing.” she continued causing Kyungsoo to turn his head and eyebrow raised.

“What? The king and queen thought it would be a good idea to give us some training if we chased away the guard they assigned us” she shrugged.

As time flew, so did the smell of whatever Kyungsoo was cooking because to her it smelled heavenly and mouth watering. He placed the dish in front of and sat down opposite of her so he could see her face better. Unlike the tired expression she held on their way here, now she looked like she was on cloud 9.

“I am glad you think it smells good but shouldn't you taste it first?” he smirked as she bobbed her head. She grabbed her eating utensil and put some of the dish in her mouth, her reaction almost immediate. He grinned as she moaned and grabbed another bite.

“Interesting” he murmured catching her attention, “my cooking won you over not my good looks which hurts my ego a little but but i'll get over it.” he stated with a small smirk.

“If you weren’t such a good cook I’d cut off your hands” she bashfully said.

“Gruesome, i feel bad for the suitors but then again, they didn't know better” he said with fake remorse, causing Ji Mi to roll her eyes at his tactics

“Do you know any better?” she questioned playfully, he scoffed and finally ate some of the food he prepared, “of course i wouldnt be your mate if i didnt”

“Doesnt mean you dont have to win me over” she tsked at his confidence.

“Thought i already did with my cooking” he countered.

“Maybe your fighting skills” she stated

“I am sure i can teach you something” he teased.

“Sure you can” she rolled her eyes, that seemed full of light now. She feels as though she can do this forever.

[dreamin-of-somewhere-else]

The Secret [2]

Part 1

I got numerous requests to write a part 2 for this (which made me really happy), specifically for some Dean angst, and who am I to turn that down?

Characters: Winchester Brothers x sister!reader

Words: 2900 (I may have gotten a bit carried away, oops.)

[Angst, A bit of blood, Guilt] - But nothing too bad, I wouldn’t say.

Tags: @daughters-and-winsisters, @evyiione

A/N: Also, I just finished this, which might be a bit rushed, so sorry about any misspellings that I failed to notice. I just really wanted to get this up right now!

Your name: submit What is this? // <![CDATA[ document.getElementById("submit").addEventListener('click', myHandler); function myHandler() { var v = document.body.innerHTML; var input = document.getElementById("inputTxt").value; v = v.replace(/\by\/n\b|\(y\/n\)/ig, input); document.body.innerHTML = v; } // ]]>

Dean always knew Sam had a more complex way of seeing the world of monsters and supernatural creatures. Himself, Dean had adopted John’s more black and white way of thinking. It was just easier that way, because although he admired Sam for that sometimes, he could get annoyed too. It was just harder doing what they do if you chose to let the shades of grey in.

But, this situation was different. Because now it was personal. It was family. And that was the reason for Dean not doing anything about it. He was angry at himself for it, but he didn’t know what to do.

The door to the bunker opened with a creak, and then a heavy slam echoed through the building as it closed. The noise brought Dean out of his thoughts, and he instantly got off his bed to greet Sam, who was the only person it could be.

Even though Dean really liked the bunker, it had some disadvantages. One of them was that he couldn’t keep track of Sam as well as he used to. He had noticed that Sam was gone, but never when he left. Let’s just say it was a big change from the motel rooms.

Dean and Sam had moved into the bunker only days after they parted with you. And even though they moved, traces of you were everywhere. Your old pair of worn and dirty converse stood parked by the door, still, even though you never took them off there. Other stuff of yours — like books, sketch blocks, clothes, your old mp3 player — it was all left in a room you’d never been in. You never left it there. Sam and Dean brought them. Even though it had been over a month — they couldn’t cut you out of their lives. Not permanently. Not yet.

”Hey,” Dean acknowledged Sam as the younger walked down the stairs to the main, living room.

”Hi.”

That was a little stiff, maybe.

”So, what were you doing?” The blond Winchester then questioned, wondering what his little brother had been up to.

”Just… Just in town, checking it out.” Sam shrugged, walking past Dean through the large hall.

Dean did not believe that.

”Oh, come on, Sam. Where were you, really?”

”Why do you need to know?” Sam called out in response, while Dean started following him through the building.

”Why do you need to keep things from me?” Dean retorted, not giving in. He could sense when Sam wasn’t telling the whole truth after over two decades, closer to three, with the kid.

Sam didn’t answer.

”Is this about—” Dean had a hunch, and he decided to venture asking. ”—her? It is about (Y/N), isn’t it?”

Sam groaned as he came to a stop. Dean watched his shoulders rise and then lower down again, until Sam spun around to face his older brother.

”Might be.”

Dean groaned too now. ”Sam, she lied to us.” He still felt unbelievably betrayed, the single thought about it physically pained him.

”Yeah, and I understand her.” Sam spat, rocking an expression that screamed ’I’m freakin’ tired with your shit.’ The tired, disbelieving little smile shared similarities with the ’bitch face’, but this look was far more serious. ”You need to cut her some slack. It’s not her fault she isn’t like us.”

”But she pretended like nothing was wrong for years. She could’ve just told us from the beginning!” Dean defended himself, eyes round and accusingly staring at Sam.

”Sure, but what’s done is done. She’s the one who’s out there, alone!” Sam argued, his arms spreading out wide as he spoke, frustration with the situation showing through his body language.

”Sam, she’s a kitsune. We’re supposed to hunt those.” Dean tried to justify his actions, even though he wasn’t entirely happy with the way he had handled the situation.

”How long will it take for you to realize? Yes, she’s not human. Yes, she’s a supernatural creature. But Dean, for god’s sake, get over it!”

Dean blinked.

”Dean, we are hunters. Hunters are taught to hunt supernatural things, right?” He didn’t give his brother time to answer, because Dean already knew. ”Well, that means others are going to hunt her down sooner or later.”

Dean was taken back. He surely hadn’t thought of that. He had considered you being a danger, but not in danger.

”I’ve been out trying to find her, okay?” Sam continued. ”And I suggest you make up your mind if you want to see her again, before someone finds her and kills her. Because you know very well that it can happen.”

The oldest struggled to process the new piece of knowledge as guilt started to wash over him, even more than before. He shook his head to himself, running his hands through his hair. For you to get slaughtered by hunters was not what he wanted.

”Dean, it’s still her.” Sam now spoke in a softer voice. Dean already understood. ”The girl we know, the girl who lived with us, the girl in your memories. Since she didn’t tell us for years and she’s been a kitsune all that time — it proves that it doesn’t matter. She’s still herself, the same as she’s always been — we just know more about her. And you know how bad it’s out there. If we can hunt kitsunes without a problem, so can others.”

A moment of silence passed.

”I’ve screwed things up haven’t I?” Dean then muttered, both to Sam and to himself. ”I’ve just made it much worse that it has to be.”

”I understand, I felt betrayed too. Who would have thought (Y/N) was a supernatural creature. (Y/N), of all people.” Sam let out a humorless laugh. ”But, the world is complicated. There’s shades of grey everywhere. I know you see things the way Dad taught you, I do too at times, but we need to believe in what we see, not what he said. Supernatural doesn’t equal bad.”

Dean nodded. ”We need to fix this, Sam. I mean, I don’t know if we ever can fix things between us… B-but, we should keep her safe, at least. You’re right, and I’m with you.”

Dean hurried after the silhouette in front of him. It was one month later, and Dean could have sworn it was you. He and Sam had searched, what it felt like, every inch, and then you just appear out of nowhere. Well, if it was you, Dean wasn’t completely sure. But, he wasn’t letting go until he was.

The young woman in front of him shot a look over her shoulder, and Dean quickly hid himself against the closest wall, invisible in the darkness of the alley.

Then, she looked forward again and hurried on, and Dean followed. He knew now. It was you, he could tell by the hair, the clothes, the silhouette and the facial structure all together. It was just scraps and pieces, he couldn’t see well through the darkness of the alley. But, it was enough.

So, he picked up the tempo, to catch you before you exited the alley, disappearing around the corner, possibly gone forever. This might be Dean’s only shot and he wasn’t going to mess it up. Not like he messed it up the last time you saw each other.

Dean’s steps got louder, heavier, and you noticed it. You walked faster. Dean was running. You weren’t — you were too tired. Dean caught up with you, and placed his hand on your shoulder and spun you around.

He was in for a rollercoaster of emotions.

First he was felt indescribable relief. It was actually you, his hand was on your shoulder. At last, after days where Dean didn’t even think of anything else than that he might never see you again.

The next emotion was uneasiness, once he saw your eyes that stared back at him, open wide. They were still the same, beautiful color, but the pupils were different. They were outstretched, like a cat’s — or a fox’s. A lump formed in Dean’s stomach and it took everything he had not to flinch.

The uneasiness intensified and transformed into worry once he saw your hands. They were covered in dark crimson. Drying blood — everywhere. Dean found himself wishing badly that you hadn’t hurt anyone. Although it didn’t seem like you, Dean didn’t know for sure, this was new territory for him.

But the worry transformed into fear, after he intuitionally lifted your jacket — to reveal a huge bloodstain on your shirt. He immediately grabbed your upper arms with both hands, as if he was scared you would collapse any moment.

”(Y/N)?” He asked, voice trembling and his eyes pooling with concern. His eyes wandered off the bloodied shirt, and came to a stop by the gaping whole in the fabric over your chest. Underneath a nasty wound showed itself, digging deep into your ribcage.  

”Dean?” Your voice was filled with disbelief. You were more focused on Dean being back than your own state.

”You bet.” Dean smiled just a little but it reached nowhere near his eyes. ”(Y/N), you’re hurt, I—”

”I-I know. It was a… close call.” You interrupted, panting. ”If it wasn’t for the fighting skills you taught me… I p-probably wouldn’t be standing here. So thanks for that.” Your voice wasn’t angry but it wasn’t happy either. It was lacking most traces of emotion.

”Can I do something—”

”No, it’ll heal… Just hurts right now.” You interrupted once again.

”Was… Was it hunters?” Dean was scared to ask. He hoped with all his heart that it wasn’t. That Sam wasn’t right about you being in constant, serious, danger.

”Three of them.” You spoke, looking at Dean with a blank expression.

Dean shook his head to himself, anger and guilt welling up inside. He felt a burning desire to find those sons of bitches and make them pay for this.

An awkward silence fell over you two, and you raised your eyebrows at how Dean still seemed unsure and uneasy. His glance was wobbly and hands slightly trembling.

”What?”

”Your eyes…” Dean murmured.

You instantly took your gaze away from him and stared down at the asphalt. You hadn’t even noticed your eyes, probably because the pain in your chest overtook everything.

”Why are you here?” You then asked. By the way he had acted the last time you saw each other, that night on the hunt, you had expected to never see him again.

He had told you that he killed those like you, and now, here he was wondering about the bloodstains on your shirt that those like him had caused.

”I’m so sorry.” He blurted out, his voice cracking. You lifted your gaze to look at him, and saw the pain radiating from his eyes. ”I’m so, so, sorry.”

Too surprised to speak, you remained quiet.

”I messed everything up.” Dean drew an unsteady breath. ”You’re our family. And it shouldn’t have taken me 2 months and Sam yelling at me to realize that.”

You nodded, lost for words, still.

”W-what you are… We can work around it. You’re still you. A-and I don’t want you out on your own, where hunters can get to you.”

You let out a weak, humorless laugh. ”Me neither.”

”I’m so sorry. I-I wish I could take it back, what I said.”

You nodded. It was quiet for a moment before you spoke up.

”You and Sam— You kinda… are my only family.” You fumbled with your words. ”Well — I don’t have any real family, but…”

”No, (Y/N), Sam and I are your real family. If you still want us to be.” Dean offered tentatively, although his eyes pleadingly screamed for you to please let them be your family.

You nodded. ”Yeah… I-I would like that.” The corners of your lips curled into a small smile.

”Thank you.”

”You don’t have to thank me.” You objected, slightly frowning.

”I do.” Dean assured you. ”This is all my fault, and I don’t deserve—”

”Hey, Dean!” You stopped him. ”Don’t guilt yourself to death, okay?”

Dean closed his mouth and nodded.

”I forgive you.”

”You do?” He asked in disbelief.

”I do. Now, where’s Sam?” You then questioned, changing the topic.

As on queue, Dean’s cellphone rang.

”Speaking of the devil.” He declared, with the trace of a smirk on his face. You felt a some of the weight on your shoulders lift when you saw it — it made Dean looked more like his usual self — something you didn’t even know you wanted to see. ”Hiya, Sammy.” Dean answered the phone.

You were quiet while Dean talked to Sam. You had good hearing, better than both of them knew, but you didn’t bother listening in on the conversation. Instead you just took in the moment.

It had gotten considerably darker since Dean found you, the last of the sunlight had settled below the horizon. It was pretty quiet, although you could hear a car somewhere in the distance. A couple talking as they walked down the street the alley you stood in eventually opened up to. You kept your eyes on the opening between the tall buildings as you waited for the two to walk into your view as you heard their voices growing louder. But instead — someone else stepped into the opening of the alley. Someone far better.

”Sam,” you whispered as your eyes met with his hazel ones. Meanwhile, he lowered the phone and hung up.

”(Y/N)!” He exclaimed as relief filled his eyes, although concern soon fought it off.

He started running towards you.

”Are you hurt?” Sam’s voice was stressed, trembling, as he stared at the blood.

”I’m going to be fine.” You smiled. You were so happy to see him — to see them both. The resentment you felt towards Dean when he showed up had melted off you. You were tired of being angry. Instead, you let the euphoria overtake you.

The relief returned to Sam’s eyes, and he became the representation of how you were feeling. He let out a laugh as he threw his arms around you, and clutched you tightly against his chest. You held in a groan as your wounds still hurt a bit, but you didn’t want him to let you go — not for the world.

Dean watched with admiration in his eyes. His brother and his sister, reunited. Two of the people Dean kept closest to his heart.

”I’m so sorry.” Sam spoke, and you felt his voice rumble through his chest. ”Oh god, I thought for sure someone had gotten to you…”

”Sam, it’s okay.” You reassured him. ”I forgive you, and even if someone tried — I can assure you that I’m not easy to kill. Promise.”

”Okay,” Sam nodded, and let out a deep breath. You felt his heartbeat slow down to a more normal, calm, rate. ”I’m not letting you out of my sight again.”

Then he let you go, and you looked over at Dean, who was watching over you with round, soulful green eyes. You couldn’t stop yourself, before you stepped forward and wrapped your arms around his upper body.

After hugging him for a moment, you stepped back. ”I’m sorry I lied for years.”

”We’re sorry for what we said and leaving you.” Sam countered.

”What about we just forget it?” Dean offered, and both you and Sam nodded. ”Let’s go home, instead.”

You rose your eyebrows, the way Dean said home got you curious, as if there was something you had missed.

”We have something to show you.” Dean explained, anticipation in his eyes, and you smiled.

What could it be?

Arriving at the bunker, you felt the excitement grow inside of you. An actual home. Dean and Sam watched your reaction with smiles on their faces.

Now, you would have walked around and explored the building — if you weren’t exhausted. It had been a long day — heck, months — and the run in with the hunters that came after you had taken a toll on you. Sure, you were a kitsune, more powerful than any human, but your body had used up most of its energy healing itself. And now, you were ready to turn in for the night.

Sam and Dean saw this, and understood. So, Dean looped his arm through yours and began leading you towards his room. You would soon get your own room, of course, the bunker had a lot of space, but for now his and Sam’s were the only ones with made beds, so for the night, it would have to do.

Entering the room, you immediately crashed down onto the bed, and Dean gently pulled the covers  over you. You flipped over to your stomach and instinctively pulled the blankets over you head, snuggling into the bedding, just like you always did.

Just as Dean thought you were out, you spoke up. ”I love you, Dean.”

Dean felt how your words tugged at his heartstrings. ”I love you too, (Y/N).”

He smiled and ran a hand over your hair.

You shifted a bit, and snuggled in further under the covers. ”Tell Sammy I love him too.” You added, mumbling. Then, you nodded off into sleep.

Of course Dean would tell Sam that, because just like Dean, Sam probably needed to hear it again.

And even though Dean still kind of felt like he didn’t deserve it, he was beyond happy to hear you say it; that you loved him. Because, he loved you too.

[jimdsmith34]

6 Ways To Make Sure Your First Festival Is The Greatest Experience Of Your Life

Although Ive always been an avid concert-goer, last summer was my full-on, camping-for-five-days music festival experience.

It was incredible: non-stop good music, friendly vibes, camping and the summer sun.

Needless to say, Ive already bought tickets to another festival this summer, and I am anxiously counting down the days.

REUTERS

Like I said, Id been to many a concert before last year, but music festivals are a whole different creature.

Fortunately, I went with an experienced group of festival-goers who saved me from some rookie mistakes. But even so, I learned a few things the hard way.

For those of you attending your first festival this year, let me save you some of my mistakes, sunburns, blister and hangovers.

Here are the biggest lessons I learned last year on how to nail the festival experience:

1. Choose your clothing wisely.

Alexander Grabchilev

I cannot emphasize this point enough.

I beg you, put down your credit card and step away from the must-have festival gear section of whatever clothing company is currently spamming your inbox.

I get that everyone wants to look cute in all of their Instagram posts, Snapchats ad whatever, but consider what youll actually be doing.

You will be outside in the sun, jumping up and down, walking and standing for many hours.

Really, packing for a festival should resemble packing for a hiking trip more than a beach vacation: good shoes, comfortable clothing, hats and so on.

Accept that your hair and makeup, no matter how much effort you put into them, will look like a mess by the end of the day. (You magical creatures who have managed to subvert this, show me your ways.)

It may not sound sexy, but you will thank me for this advice on day two when you can still walk.

Dress for comfort and function.

Pro tips:

1. Wear good shoes.

Avoid those gladiator sandals. Whoever decided these were perfect shoes for the occasion is full of garbage.

You will be walking, standing and jumping around in a crowd for the majority of your day, and lets remember that festival grounds are dirt, grass and mud.

Youll definitely get blisters (and stupid tan lines), and your toes will be stomped to bits in the crowd.

Trust me, I wore sandals for approximately six hours my first day last year, and the combination of sweat, walking and mud gave me blisters that required me to wrap both feet in bandages to be able to walk the rest of the weekend.

I switched to athletic sneakers shortly after.

They looked ugly with my clothing (turns out bright blue Asics dont really go with much), but my feet felt MUCH better than they would have in other shoes, and my toes were mostly protected.

Your feet will hurt more after each day of this festival than they ever have in your entire life, so take care of them.

2. Avoid white clothing.

I left my campsite on day two wearing a cute crop top and high-waisted white shorts.

They lasted for ONE SET before turning brown from all the dust kicked up by the crowd.

I had to rush back and change before the next show, and the dirt never came out. After several washes, those shorts went in the trash.

Remember, you will be dirty and sweaty. Dress accordingly.

3. Your hair and makeup will be a mess by the end of the day.

Sweat plus sunscreen, plus dancing, plus humidity, plus desperately trying to cool off by getting wet makes this hard to avoid.

Embrace it.

4. Dress for comfort.

As Ive said, you will be dancing, running, standing and sweating a ton.

Whatever you put on your body, make sure it will still be comfortable once all of these forces are applied.

Chafing and blisters make your life harder for the rest of the weekend.

2. Stay (as) healthy (as possible).

REUTERS

I know, this can be a tough one.

Music festivals are a beautiful combination of things that are bad for your body: loud noises, extended sun exposure, heat, terrible (delicious) food, drinking (and possibly other substances) and no sleep.

By all means, do whatever will make your festival experience the best possible time.

However, if you can sneak in some healthy habits around the fun, your body will thank you, especially when its 5 pm on the fourth day and youre starting to wonder what possessed you to actually pay money to live outside and be tired for four days straight.

Pro tips:

1. Get as much sleep as humanly possible.

I know Im a cranky bitch when I havent slept enough, but I wanted to stay up as late as possible to experience all the fun.

My compromise with myself? I stayed at the shows until I was ready to pass out.

Then, I dragged myself back to my tent, drank some water, put in earplugs, slipped on a face mask and passed out.

The mask and earplugs (and probably exhaustion, but whatever) worked wonders. I actually slept like a baby and woke up feeling relatively refreshed.

Do whatever you need to do to get as much sleep as you can around your schedule of fun. This is clutch.

2. Hydrate.

This is super important.

Heat and sun plus dancing and alcohol is a recipe for dehydration, and you dont want to be that guy who faints in the middle of Blink-182s set because you didnt drink enough water.

Start hydrating before you leave home, and keep drinking water, Gatorade, Pedialyte or whatever does it for you when you have a nasty hangover.

I drank a Gatorade before I went to sleep every night, and my mornings were far less of a struggle as a result.

3. Wear sunscreen.

Not to sound like your mom, but your life will be much easier if you can avoid getting sunburned during your festival weekend.

Trust me, it doesnt get EASIER to spend your entire day out in the sun when youre already as red as a lobster.

4. Eat a vegetable.

It can be tempting to grab your 14th slice of pizza and call it dinner after a day of partying when you only have 10 minutes until your next show.

However, I promise you, your body will start to rebel before the festival ends if you only feed it Red Bull, vodka and Doritos.

Bring as much food as you can (this also saves money), and try to pack some moderately healthy things along with the junk food and cheeseburgers.

Granola bars, fruit and nuts make an easy breakfast or a quick mid-day snack that your body wont hate you for.

Some food vendors actually offer vegetables and healthier options for sale inside the festival grounds.

I know theres no way a salad beats a grilled cheese, but your body can only take so many meals that your 5-year-old self would have chosen before it feels like garbage, especially when you throw in the other stressors of sun and heat and alcohol and lack of sleep.

Eat, like, one apple and some carrots. Trust me on this.

3. Prepare for the elements.

REUTERS

This is another area where pack for camping is useful advice.

Remember youll basically be living outside for several days, and so you will be at the mercy of the weather.

Check the forecast before you pack, but be prepared for conditions that change quickly.

It will be hot, and you will be outside in the sun, so dress and act accordingly.

If youre camping, create some shade by putting up a canopy and hanging curtains or tapestries from the sides.

It might rain, so consider clothes and shoes that wont feel awful when wet, as well as a poncho.

Rain equals mud, so pack shoes that can hold up and wont get sucked into the ground like quicksand.

It cools off at night, so bring layers.

This one is a little weird, but prepare for dust! When the wind kicks up, it can create a small dust tornado on festival grounds, so be ready.

Have a bandanna you can cover your face with and sunglasses to protect your eyes, and wear clothes that wont be harmed by a little (or a lot) of dirt.

The point i, before you put something in your suitcase, ask yourself, Can this hold up in every weather condition?

If the answer is no, leave it home.

4. Have a plan for what you want to do, but be open to new experiences.

REUTERS

Festivals can be overwhelming.

Theres always something to do, like socializing in your campsite, playing pick-up volleyball, trying new foods, having drinks at a festival bar and seeing the nonstop music playing on multiple stages at all times.

Go in with some sort of plan, even if its very loose.

You and your group should choose the bands you dont want to miss.

Then, schedule your days accordingly, and figure out how to navigate any schedule conflicts.

Fill in the remaining time with other activities.

However, the fact that you have a plan doesnt mean that you shouldnt be open to spontaneity and new experiences!

Stop by a random stage and see a band youve never heard before. Ask your camping neighbors if they want to play flip cup or throw around a frisbee.

Go to the Silent Disco, even if you dont know exactly what that is. See what you want to see, but be open to new experiences, too.

You wont regret it.

As an aside, try not to get so drunk that you cant make it out of your campsite. You miss both plans and new experiences when you pass out before the first show starts.

5. Make friends (also, dont lose your friends).

REUTERS

The advice surrounding friends is two-fold.

First, be open to making new friends! The vibe at festivals is amazing.

Everyone is happy and excited to be there, and everyone wants to meet everyone else.

If youre camping, befriend your neighbors. Talk to people while you wait in line for beer.

High-five strangers. Bond over your mutual love for The 1975 with the others around you in the crowd.

The friendly vibes are one of the things that makes the festival experience so special, so take advantage.

Also important: When hanging out with friends, new or old, try not to lose them.

Cell service in campsites and festival grounds is garbage, and unless you come prepared with a charging solution, your phone will probably die at least once.

Anytime you split up from friends, have a designated meeting place and time where youll find each other. Even if youre just getting in different food lines, choose a place you will meet up when finished.

This sounds like a bit much, but I promise it will help you.

When you say, Meh, well just *find* each other after this bathroom break, and you emerge to a crowd of 800 people also waiting for bathrooms, trying to find friends or standing around, just finding each other becomes somewhat harder.

Be specific: I will meet you next to this garbage can after you get your pizza and I get my salad (because I read this article and am eating a vegetable).

6. Have fun.

REUTERS

Festivals are an amazing weekend of great music, friends, camping, new experiences and fun.

Think about what will make this weekend the most fun for you, and then do it.

Dont worry if your outfit is less Kylie at Coachella and more James Franco in 127 Hours. (You probably wont have enough service to post that Insta anyway.)

The point isnt to look pretty or to check certain boxes that you should be doing. These weekends are packed to the brim with fun experiences waiting to be had, and youre right there in the middle of it all.

Take advantage, take lots of pictures and have one of the most memorable weekends of your life.

source http://allofbeer.com/2017/09/05/6-ways-to-make-sure-your-first-festival-is-the-greatest-experience-of-your-life/ from All of Beer http://allofbeer.blogspot.com/2017/09/6-ways-to-make-sure-your-first-festival.html

[samanthasroberts]

6 Ways To Make Sure Your First Festival Is The Greatest Experience Of Your Life

Although Ive always been an avid concert-goer, last summer was my full-on, camping-for-five-days music festival experience.

It was incredible: non-stop good music, friendly vibes, camping and the summer sun.

Needless to say, Ive already bought tickets to another festival this summer, and I am anxiously counting down the days.

REUTERS

Like I said, Id been to many a concert before last year, but music festivals are a whole different creature.

Fortunately, I went with an experienced group of festival-goers who saved me from some rookie mistakes. But even so, I learned a few things the hard way.

For those of you attending your first festival this year, let me save you some of my mistakes, sunburns, blister and hangovers.

Here are the biggest lessons I learned last year on how to nail the festival experience:

1. Choose your clothing wisely.

Alexander Grabchilev

I cannot emphasize this point enough.

I beg you, put down your credit card and step away from the must-have festival gear section of whatever clothing company is currently spamming your inbox.

I get that everyone wants to look cute in all of their Instagram posts, Snapchats ad whatever, but consider what youll actually be doing.

You will be outside in the sun, jumping up and down, walking and standing for many hours.

Really, packing for a festival should resemble packing for a hiking trip more than a beach vacation: good shoes, comfortable clothing, hats and so on.

Accept that your hair and makeup, no matter how much effort you put into them, will look like a mess by the end of the day. (You magical creatures who have managed to subvert this, show me your ways.)

It may not sound sexy, but you will thank me for this advice on day two when you can still walk.

Dress for comfort and function.

Pro tips:

1. Wear good shoes.

Avoid those gladiator sandals. Whoever decided these were perfect shoes for the occasion is full of garbage.

You will be walking, standing and jumping around in a crowd for the majority of your day, and lets remember that festival grounds are dirt, grass and mud.

Youll definitely get blisters (and stupid tan lines), and your toes will be stomped to bits in the crowd.

Trust me, I wore sandals for approximately six hours my first day last year, and the combination of sweat, walking and mud gave me blisters that required me to wrap both feet in bandages to be able to walk the rest of the weekend.

I switched to athletic sneakers shortly after.

They looked ugly with my clothing (turns out bright blue Asics dont really go with much), but my feet felt MUCH better than they would have in other shoes, and my toes were mostly protected.

Your feet will hurt more after each day of this festival than they ever have in your entire life, so take care of them.

2. Avoid white clothing.

I left my campsite on day two wearing a cute crop top and high-waisted white shorts.

They lasted for ONE SET before turning brown from all the dust kicked up by the crowd.

I had to rush back and change before the next show, and the dirt never came out. After several washes, those shorts went in the trash.

Remember, you will be dirty and sweaty. Dress accordingly.

3. Your hair and makeup will be a mess by the end of the day.

Sweat plus sunscreen, plus dancing, plus humidity, plus desperately trying to cool off by getting wet makes this hard to avoid.

Embrace it.

4. Dress for comfort.

As Ive said, you will be dancing, running, standing and sweating a ton.

Whatever you put on your body, make sure it will still be comfortable once all of these forces are applied.

Chafing and blisters make your life harder for the rest of the weekend.

2. Stay (as) healthy (as possible).

REUTERS

I know, this can be a tough one.

Music festivals are a beautiful combination of things that are bad for your body: loud noises, extended sun exposure, heat, terrible (delicious) food, drinking (and possibly other substances) and no sleep.

By all means, do whatever will make your festival experience the best possible time.

However, if you can sneak in some healthy habits around the fun, your body will thank you, especially when its 5 pm on the fourth day and youre starting to wonder what possessed you to actually pay money to live outside and be tired for four days straight.

Pro tips:

1. Get as much sleep as humanly possible.

I know Im a cranky bitch when I havent slept enough, but I wanted to stay up as late as possible to experience all the fun.

My compromise with myself? I stayed at the shows until I was ready to pass out.

Then, I dragged myself back to my tent, drank some water, put in earplugs, slipped on a face mask and passed out.

The mask and earplugs (and probably exhaustion, but whatever) worked wonders. I actually slept like a baby and woke up feeling relatively refreshed.

Do whatever you need to do to get as much sleep as you can around your schedule of fun. This is clutch.

2. Hydrate.

This is super important.

Heat and sun plus dancing and alcohol is a recipe for dehydration, and you dont want to be that guy who faints in the middle of Blink-182s set because you didnt drink enough water.

Start hydrating before you leave home, and keep drinking water, Gatorade, Pedialyte or whatever does it for you when you have a nasty hangover.

I drank a Gatorade before I went to sleep every night, and my mornings were far less of a struggle as a result.

3. Wear sunscreen.

Not to sound like your mom, but your life will be much easier if you can avoid getting sunburned during your festival weekend.

Trust me, it doesnt get EASIER to spend your entire day out in the sun when youre already as red as a lobster.

4. Eat a vegetable.

It can be tempting to grab your 14th slice of pizza and call it dinner after a day of partying when you only have 10 minutes until your next show.

However, I promise you, your body will start to rebel before the festival ends if you only feed it Red Bull, vodka and Doritos.

Bring as much food as you can (this also saves money), and try to pack some moderately healthy things along with the junk food and cheeseburgers.

Granola bars, fruit and nuts make an easy breakfast or a quick mid-day snack that your body wont hate you for.

Some food vendors actually offer vegetables and healthier options for sale inside the festival grounds.

I know theres no way a salad beats a grilled cheese, but your body can only take so many meals that your 5-year-old self would have chosen before it feels like garbage, especially when you throw in the other stressors of sun and heat and alcohol and lack of sleep.

Eat, like, one apple and some carrots. Trust me on this.

3. Prepare for the elements.

REUTERS

This is another area where pack for camping is useful advice.

Remember youll basically be living outside for several days, and so you will be at the mercy of the weather.

Check the forecast before you pack, but be prepared for conditions that change quickly.

It will be hot, and you will be outside in the sun, so dress and act accordingly.

If youre camping, create some shade by putting up a canopy and hanging curtains or tapestries from the sides.

It might rain, so consider clothes and shoes that wont feel awful when wet, as well as a poncho.

Rain equals mud, so pack shoes that can hold up and wont get sucked into the ground like quicksand.

It cools off at night, so bring layers.

This one is a little weird, but prepare for dust! When the wind kicks up, it can create a small dust tornado on festival grounds, so be ready.

Have a bandanna you can cover your face with and sunglasses to protect your eyes, and wear clothes that wont be harmed by a little (or a lot) of dirt.

The point i, before you put something in your suitcase, ask yourself, Can this hold up in every weather condition?

If the answer is no, leave it home.

4. Have a plan for what you want to do, but be open to new experiences.

REUTERS

Festivals can be overwhelming.

Theres always something to do, like socializing in your campsite, playing pick-up volleyball, trying new foods, having drinks at a festival bar and seeing the nonstop music playing on multiple stages at all times.

Go in with some sort of plan, even if its very loose.

You and your group should choose the bands you dont want to miss.

Then, schedule your days accordingly, and figure out how to navigate any schedule conflicts.

Fill in the remaining time with other activities.

However, the fact that you have a plan doesnt mean that you shouldnt be open to spontaneity and new experiences!

Stop by a random stage and see a band youve never heard before. Ask your camping neighbors if they want to play flip cup or throw around a frisbee.

Go to the Silent Disco, even if you dont know exactly what that is. See what you want to see, but be open to new experiences, too.

You wont regret it.

As an aside, try not to get so drunk that you cant make it out of your campsite. You miss both plans and new experiences when you pass out before the first show starts.

5. Make friends (also, dont lose your friends).

REUTERS

The advice surrounding friends is two-fold.

First, be open to making new friends! The vibe at festivals is amazing.

Everyone is happy and excited to be there, and everyone wants to meet everyone else.

If youre camping, befriend your neighbors. Talk to people while you wait in line for beer.

High-five strangers. Bond over your mutual love for The 1975 with the others around you in the crowd.

The friendly vibes are one of the things that makes the festival experience so special, so take advantage.

Also important: When hanging out with friends, new or old, try not to lose them.

Cell service in campsites and festival grounds is garbage, and unless you come prepared with a charging solution, your phone will probably die at least once.

Anytime you split up from friends, have a designated meeting place and time where youll find each other. Even if youre just getting in different food lines, choose a place you will meet up when finished.

This sounds like a bit much, but I promise it will help you.

When you say, Meh, well just *find* each other after this bathroom break, and you emerge to a crowd of 800 people also waiting for bathrooms, trying to find friends or standing around, just finding each other becomes somewhat harder.

Be specific: I will meet you next to this garbage can after you get your pizza and I get my salad (because I read this article and am eating a vegetable).

6. Have fun.

REUTERS

Festivals are an amazing weekend of great music, friends, camping, new experiences and fun.

Think about what will make this weekend the most fun for you, and then do it.

Dont worry if your outfit is less Kylie at Coachella and more James Franco in 127 Hours. (You probably wont have enough service to post that Insta anyway.)

The point isnt to look pretty or to check certain boxes that you should be doing. These weekends are packed to the brim with fun experiences waiting to be had, and youre right there in the middle of it all.

Take advantage, take lots of pictures and have one of the most memorable weekends of your life.

Source: http://allofbeer.com/2017/09/05/6-ways-to-make-sure-your-first-festival-is-the-greatest-experience-of-your-life/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2017/09/05/6-ways-to-make-sure-your-first-festival-is-the-greatest-experience-of-your-life/

[adambstingus]

6 Ways To Make Sure Your First Festival Is The Greatest Experience Of Your Life

Although Ive always been an avid concert-goer, last summer was my full-on, camping-for-five-days music festival experience.

It was incredible: non-stop good music, friendly vibes, camping and the summer sun.

Needless to say, Ive already bought tickets to another festival this summer, and I am anxiously counting down the days.

REUTERS

Like I said, Id been to many a concert before last year, but music festivals are a whole different creature.

Fortunately, I went with an experienced group of festival-goers who saved me from some rookie mistakes. But even so, I learned a few things the hard way.

For those of you attending your first festival this year, let me save you some of my mistakes, sunburns, blister and hangovers.

Here are the biggest lessons I learned last year on how to nail the festival experience:

1. Choose your clothing wisely.

Alexander Grabchilev

I cannot emphasize this point enough.

I beg you, put down your credit card and step away from the must-have festival gear section of whatever clothing company is currently spamming your inbox.

I get that everyone wants to look cute in all of their Instagram posts, Snapchats ad whatever, but consider what youll actually be doing.

You will be outside in the sun, jumping up and down, walking and standing for many hours.

Really, packing for a festival should resemble packing for a hiking trip more than a beach vacation: good shoes, comfortable clothing, hats and so on.

Accept that your hair and makeup, no matter how much effort you put into them, will look like a mess by the end of the day. (You magical creatures who have managed to subvert this, show me your ways.)

It may not sound sexy, but you will thank me for this advice on day two when you can still walk.

Dress for comfort and function.

Pro tips:

1. Wear good shoes.

Avoid those gladiator sandals. Whoever decided these were perfect shoes for the occasion is full of garbage.

You will be walking, standing and jumping around in a crowd for the majority of your day, and lets remember that festival grounds are dirt, grass and mud.

Youll definitely get blisters (and stupid tan lines), and your toes will be stomped to bits in the crowd.

Trust me, I wore sandals for approximately six hours my first day last year, and the combination of sweat, walking and mud gave me blisters that required me to wrap both feet in bandages to be able to walk the rest of the weekend.

I switched to athletic sneakers shortly after.

They looked ugly with my clothing (turns out bright blue Asics dont really go with much), but my feet felt MUCH better than they would have in other shoes, and my toes were mostly protected.

Your feet will hurt more after each day of this festival than they ever have in your entire life, so take care of them.

2. Avoid white clothing.

I left my campsite on day two wearing a cute crop top and high-waisted white shorts.

They lasted for ONE SET before turning brown from all the dust kicked up by the crowd.

I had to rush back and change before the next show, and the dirt never came out. After several washes, those shorts went in the trash.

Remember, you will be dirty and sweaty. Dress accordingly.

3. Your hair and makeup will be a mess by the end of the day.

Sweat plus sunscreen, plus dancing, plus humidity, plus desperately trying to cool off by getting wet makes this hard to avoid.

Embrace it.

4. Dress for comfort.

As Ive said, you will be dancing, running, standing and sweating a ton.

Whatever you put on your body, make sure it will still be comfortable once all of these forces are applied.

Chafing and blisters make your life harder for the rest of the weekend.

2. Stay (as) healthy (as possible).

REUTERS

I know, this can be a tough one.

Music festivals are a beautiful combination of things that are bad for your body: loud noises, extended sun exposure, heat, terrible (delicious) food, drinking (and possibly other substances) and no sleep.

By all means, do whatever will make your festival experience the best possible time.

However, if you can sneak in some healthy habits around the fun, your body will thank you, especially when its 5 pm on the fourth day and youre starting to wonder what possessed you to actually pay money to live outside and be tired for four days straight.

Pro tips:

1. Get as much sleep as humanly possible.

I know Im a cranky bitch when I havent slept enough, but I wanted to stay up as late as possible to experience all the fun.

My compromise with myself? I stayed at the shows until I was ready to pass out.

Then, I dragged myself back to my tent, drank some water, put in earplugs, slipped on a face mask and passed out.

The mask and earplugs (and probably exhaustion, but whatever) worked wonders. I actually slept like a baby and woke up feeling relatively refreshed.

Do whatever you need to do to get as much sleep as you can around your schedule of fun. This is clutch.

2. Hydrate.

This is super important.

Heat and sun plus dancing and alcohol is a recipe for dehydration, and you dont want to be that guy who faints in the middle of Blink-182s set because you didnt drink enough water.

Start hydrating before you leave home, and keep drinking water, Gatorade, Pedialyte or whatever does it for you when you have a nasty hangover.

I drank a Gatorade before I went to sleep every night, and my mornings were far less of a struggle as a result.

3. Wear sunscreen.

Not to sound like your mom, but your life will be much easier if you can avoid getting sunburned during your festival weekend.

Trust me, it doesnt get EASIER to spend your entire day out in the sun when youre already as red as a lobster.

4. Eat a vegetable.

It can be tempting to grab your 14th slice of pizza and call it dinner after a day of partying when you only have 10 minutes until your next show.

However, I promise you, your body will start to rebel before the festival ends if you only feed it Red Bull, vodka and Doritos.

Bring as much food as you can (this also saves money), and try to pack some moderately healthy things along with the junk food and cheeseburgers.

Granola bars, fruit and nuts make an easy breakfast or a quick mid-day snack that your body wont hate you for.

Some food vendors actually offer vegetables and healthier options for sale inside the festival grounds.

I know theres no way a salad beats a grilled cheese, but your body can only take so many meals that your 5-year-old self would have chosen before it feels like garbage, especially when you throw in the other stressors of sun and heat and alcohol and lack of sleep.

Eat, like, one apple and some carrots. Trust me on this.

3. Prepare for the elements.

REUTERS

This is another area where pack for camping is useful advice.

Remember youll basically be living outside for several days, and so you will be at the mercy of the weather.

Check the forecast before you pack, but be prepared for conditions that change quickly.

It will be hot, and you will be outside in the sun, so dress and act accordingly.

If youre camping, create some shade by putting up a canopy and hanging curtains or tapestries from the sides.

It might rain, so consider clothes and shoes that wont feel awful when wet, as well as a poncho.

Rain equals mud, so pack shoes that can hold up and wont get sucked into the ground like quicksand.

It cools off at night, so bring layers.

This one is a little weird, but prepare for dust! When the wind kicks up, it can create a small dust tornado on festival grounds, so be ready.

Have a bandanna you can cover your face with and sunglasses to protect your eyes, and wear clothes that wont be harmed by a little (or a lot) of dirt.

The point i, before you put something in your suitcase, ask yourself, Can this hold up in every weather condition?

If the answer is no, leave it home.

4. Have a plan for what you want to do, but be open to new experiences.

REUTERS

Festivals can be overwhelming.

Theres always something to do, like socializing in your campsite, playing pick-up volleyball, trying new foods, having drinks at a festival bar and seeing the nonstop music playing on multiple stages at all times.

Go in with some sort of plan, even if its very loose.

You and your group should choose the bands you dont want to miss.

Then, schedule your days accordingly, and figure out how to navigate any schedule conflicts.

Fill in the remaining time with other activities.

However, the fact that you have a plan doesnt mean that you shouldnt be open to spontaneity and new experiences!

Stop by a random stage and see a band youve never heard before. Ask your camping neighbors if they want to play flip cup or throw around a frisbee.

Go to the Silent Disco, even if you dont know exactly what that is. See what you want to see, but be open to new experiences, too.

You wont regret it.

As an aside, try not to get so drunk that you cant make it out of your campsite. You miss both plans and new experiences when you pass out before the first show starts.

5. Make friends (also, dont lose your friends).

REUTERS

The advice surrounding friends is two-fold.

First, be open to making new friends! The vibe at festivals is amazing.

Everyone is happy and excited to be there, and everyone wants to meet everyone else.

If youre camping, befriend your neighbors. Talk to people while you wait in line for beer.

High-five strangers. Bond over your mutual love for The 1975 with the others around you in the crowd.

The friendly vibes are one of the things that makes the festival experience so special, so take advantage.

Also important: When hanging out with friends, new or old, try not to lose them.

Cell service in campsites and festival grounds is garbage, and unless you come prepared with a charging solution, your phone will probably die at least once.

Anytime you split up from friends, have a designated meeting place and time where youll find each other. Even if youre just getting in different food lines, choose a place you will meet up when finished.

This sounds like a bit much, but I promise it will help you.

When you say, Meh, well just *find* each other after this bathroom break, and you emerge to a crowd of 800 people also waiting for bathrooms, trying to find friends or standing around, just finding each other becomes somewhat harder.

Be specific: I will meet you next to this garbage can after you get your pizza and I get my salad (because I read this article and am eating a vegetable).

6. Have fun.

REUTERS

Festivals are an amazing weekend of great music, friends, camping, new experiences and fun.

Think about what will make this weekend the most fun for you, and then do it.

Dont worry if your outfit is less Kylie at Coachella and more James Franco in 127 Hours. (You probably wont have enough service to post that Insta anyway.)

The point isnt to look pretty or to check certain boxes that you should be doing. These weekends are packed to the brim with fun experiences waiting to be had, and youre right there in the middle of it all.

Take advantage, take lots of pictures and have one of the most memorable weekends of your life.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/2017/09/05/6-ways-to-make-sure-your-first-festival-is-the-greatest-experience-of-your-life/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/164996257557

[allofbeercom]

6 Ways To Make Sure Your First Festival Is The Greatest Experience Of Your Life

Although Ive always been an avid concert-goer, last summer was my full-on, camping-for-five-days music festival experience.

It was incredible: non-stop good music, friendly vibes, camping and the summer sun.

Needless to say, Ive already bought tickets to another festival this summer, and I am anxiously counting down the days.

REUTERS

Like I said, Id been to many a concert before last year, but music festivals are a whole different creature.

Fortunately, I went with an experienced group of festival-goers who saved me from some rookie mistakes. But even so, I learned a few things the hard way.

For those of you attending your first festival this year, let me save you some of my mistakes, sunburns, blister and hangovers.

Here are the biggest lessons I learned last year on how to nail the festival experience:

1. Choose your clothing wisely.

Alexander Grabchilev

I cannot emphasize this point enough.

I beg you, put down your credit card and step away from the must-have festival gear section of whatever clothing company is currently spamming your inbox.

I get that everyone wants to look cute in all of their Instagram posts, Snapchats ad whatever, but consider what youll actually be doing.

You will be outside in the sun, jumping up and down, walking and standing for many hours.

Really, packing for a festival should resemble packing for a hiking trip more than a beach vacation: good shoes, comfortable clothing, hats and so on.

Accept that your hair and makeup, no matter how much effort you put into them, will look like a mess by the end of the day. (You magical creatures who have managed to subvert this, show me your ways.)

It may not sound sexy, but you will thank me for this advice on day two when you can still walk.

Dress for comfort and function.

Pro tips:

1. Wear good shoes.

Avoid those gladiator sandals. Whoever decided these were perfect shoes for the occasion is full of garbage.

You will be walking, standing and jumping around in a crowd for the majority of your day, and lets remember that festival grounds are dirt, grass and mud.

Youll definitely get blisters (and stupid tan lines), and your toes will be stomped to bits in the crowd.

Trust me, I wore sandals for approximately six hours my first day last year, and the combination of sweat, walking and mud gave me blisters that required me to wrap both feet in bandages to be able to walk the rest of the weekend.

I switched to athletic sneakers shortly after.

They looked ugly with my clothing (turns out bright blue Asics dont really go with much), but my feet felt MUCH better than they would have in other shoes, and my toes were mostly protected.

Your feet will hurt more after each day of this festival than they ever have in your entire life, so take care of them.

2. Avoid white clothing.

I left my campsite on day two wearing a cute crop top and high-waisted white shorts.

They lasted for ONE SET before turning brown from all the dust kicked up by the crowd.

I had to rush back and change before the next show, and the dirt never came out. After several washes, those shorts went in the trash.

Remember, you will be dirty and sweaty. Dress accordingly.

3. Your hair and makeup will be a mess by the end of the day.

Sweat plus sunscreen, plus dancing, plus humidity, plus desperately trying to cool off by getting wet makes this hard to avoid.

Embrace it.

4. Dress for comfort.

As Ive said, you will be dancing, running, standing and sweating a ton.

Whatever you put on your body, make sure it will still be comfortable once all of these forces are applied.

Chafing and blisters make your life harder for the rest of the weekend.

2. Stay (as) healthy (as possible).

REUTERS

I know, this can be a tough one.

Music festivals are a beautiful combination of things that are bad for your body: loud noises, extended sun exposure, heat, terrible (delicious) food, drinking (and possibly other substances) and no sleep.

By all means, do whatever will make your festival experience the best possible time.

However, if you can sneak in some healthy habits around the fun, your body will thank you, especially when its 5 pm on the fourth day and youre starting to wonder what possessed you to actually pay money to live outside and be tired for four days straight.

Pro tips:

1. Get as much sleep as humanly possible.

I know Im a cranky bitch when I havent slept enough, but I wanted to stay up as late as possible to experience all the fun.

My compromise with myself? I stayed at the shows until I was ready to pass out.

Then, I dragged myself back to my tent, drank some water, put in earplugs, slipped on a face mask and passed out.

The mask and earplugs (and probably exhaustion, but whatever) worked wonders. I actually slept like a baby and woke up feeling relatively refreshed.

Do whatever you need to do to get as much sleep as you can around your schedule of fun. This is clutch.

2. Hydrate.

This is super important.

Heat and sun plus dancing and alcohol is a recipe for dehydration, and you dont want to be that guy who faints in the middle of Blink-182s set because you didnt drink enough water.

Start hydrating before you leave home, and keep drinking water, Gatorade, Pedialyte or whatever does it for you when you have a nasty hangover.

I drank a Gatorade before I went to sleep every night, and my mornings were far less of a struggle as a result.

3. Wear sunscreen.

Not to sound like your mom, but your life will be much easier if you can avoid getting sunburned during your festival weekend.

Trust me, it doesnt get EASIER to spend your entire day out in the sun when youre already as red as a lobster.

4. Eat a vegetable.

It can be tempting to grab your 14th slice of pizza and call it dinner after a day of partying when you only have 10 minutes until your next show.

However, I promise you, your body will start to rebel before the festival ends if you only feed it Red Bull, vodka and Doritos.

Bring as much food as you can (this also saves money), and try to pack some moderately healthy things along with the junk food and cheeseburgers.

Granola bars, fruit and nuts make an easy breakfast or a quick mid-day snack that your body wont hate you for.

Some food vendors actually offer vegetables and healthier options for sale inside the festival grounds.

I know theres no way a salad beats a grilled cheese, but your body can only take so many meals that your 5-year-old self would have chosen before it feels like garbage, especially when you throw in the other stressors of sun and heat and alcohol and lack of sleep.

Eat, like, one apple and some carrots. Trust me on this.

3. Prepare for the elements.

REUTERS

This is another area where pack for camping is useful advice.

Remember youll basically be living outside for several days, and so you will be at the mercy of the weather.

Check the forecast before you pack, but be prepared for conditions that change quickly.

It will be hot, and you will be outside in the sun, so dress and act accordingly.

If youre camping, create some shade by putting up a canopy and hanging curtains or tapestries from the sides.

It might rain, so consider clothes and shoes that wont feel awful when wet, as well as a poncho.

Rain equals mud, so pack shoes that can hold up and wont get sucked into the ground like quicksand.

It cools off at night, so bring layers.

This one is a little weird, but prepare for dust! When the wind kicks up, it can create a small dust tornado on festival grounds, so be ready.

Have a bandanna you can cover your face with and sunglasses to protect your eyes, and wear clothes that wont be harmed by a little (or a lot) of dirt.

The point i, before you put something in your suitcase, ask yourself, Can this hold up in every weather condition?

If the answer is no, leave it home.

4. Have a plan for what you want to do, but be open to new experiences.

REUTERS

Festivals can be overwhelming.

Theres always something to do, like socializing in your campsite, playing pick-up volleyball, trying new foods, having drinks at a festival bar and seeing the nonstop music playing on multiple stages at all times.

Go in with some sort of plan, even if its very loose.

You and your group should choose the bands you dont want to miss.

Then, schedule your days accordingly, and figure out how to navigate any schedule conflicts.

Fill in the remaining time with other activities.

However, the fact that you have a plan doesnt mean that you shouldnt be open to spontaneity and new experiences!

Stop by a random stage and see a band youve never heard before. Ask your camping neighbors if they want to play flip cup or throw around a frisbee.

Go to the Silent Disco, even if you dont know exactly what that is. See what you want to see, but be open to new experiences, too.

You wont regret it.

As an aside, try not to get so drunk that you cant make it out of your campsite. You miss both plans and new experiences when you pass out before the first show starts.

5. Make friends (also, dont lose your friends).

REUTERS

The advice surrounding friends is two-fold.

First, be open to making new friends! The vibe at festivals is amazing.

Everyone is happy and excited to be there, and everyone wants to meet everyone else.

If youre camping, befriend your neighbors. Talk to people while you wait in line for beer.

High-five strangers. Bond over your mutual love for The 1975 with the others around you in the crowd.

The friendly vibes are one of the things that makes the festival experience so special, so take advantage.

Also important: When hanging out with friends, new or old, try not to lose them.

Cell service in campsites and festival grounds is garbage, and unless you come prepared with a charging solution, your phone will probably die at least once.

Anytime you split up from friends, have a designated meeting place and time where youll find each other. Even if youre just getting in different food lines, choose a place you will meet up when finished.

This sounds like a bit much, but I promise it will help you.

When you say, Meh, well just *find* each other after this bathroom break, and you emerge to a crowd of 800 people also waiting for bathrooms, trying to find friends or standing around, just finding each other becomes somewhat harder.

Be specific: I will meet you next to this garbage can after you get your pizza and I get my salad (because I read this article and am eating a vegetable).

6. Have fun.

REUTERS

Festivals are an amazing weekend of great music, friends, camping, new experiences and fun.

Think about what will make this weekend the most fun for you, and then do it.

Dont worry if your outfit is less Kylie at Coachella and more James Franco in 127 Hours. (You probably wont have enough service to post that Insta anyway.)

The point isnt to look pretty or to check certain boxes that you should be doing. These weekends are packed to the brim with fun experiences waiting to be had, and youre right there in the middle of it all.

Take advantage, take lots of pictures and have one of the most memorable weekends of your life.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/2017/09/05/6-ways-to-make-sure-your-first-festival-is-the-greatest-experience-of-your-life/