#heartbreak weather my beloved you deserved so much better

[castawxayaway]

missing company

this is rooted from my own feelings this year about my birthday. being at uni it is extremely different, and though it is later this week I’m not up for celebrating. except this is a lot sweeter, but that is just a bit of context.  

collection of writing / part two

My phone lit up as the numbers changed, the four numbers were replaced by zeroes and the messages began to flood my lock screen. I turned my phone to face down, the light peaked through the sides and I simply rolled over onto my other side. 

Shutting my eyes I wished he was here to curl into, but instead I’m presented with a dull wall and a cool breeze from my noisy fan. With my eyes shut I try to think about what to do with my day, how to occupy myself from the pressing thought that lines family and friends minds for the day. 

Glancing around, I can’t help but feel a heaviness in my chest- maybe it’s just the effects of ageing. Sitting up I take my phone with me, not acknowledging the stream of messages, notifications and photos posted. All I try to find is a message, a tweet or something from him, a sign he might be around today. Yet, there’s nothing. I sigh loudly into the silence of my home as I fill the kettle up and contemplate what could be done today. 

Outside, rain lines the windows. They angrily decorate the glass, and I see people clutch onto their umbrellas with all their might outside. I mentally cross out going outside from things I could do. Part of me wanted to go to the harbour, have a hot drink to warm me up and just relax in the fresh air, but with the weather as it is, that is far from pleasant. 

I walk around from room to room, thinking of how the rooms could’ve been full of life today. But instead, it is just me in one of his tops wandering from a prolonged silence to coldness. Ghosts of company haunt my memory as I brush my fingers along the blue sofas, I think of 365 days ago and how much it differs now. 

If only they could’ve afforded to see me, or I visit them. What if my friends didn’t have such full on hectic lives, some parents and others throwing themselves into their degrees like myself. Once so closely knit all spread across the country, some in other countries, building better lives. 

Then there’s him. He’s here, there and everywhere. I didn’t expect him to be able to be here for today, I warned him that this year is nothing special and I’d rather leave it be. No one is here to celebrate with me, no one can witness me blowing out the candles unless through a screen where they can't smell the smoke, taste the sweet sponge and sickly icing. Instead, the calls will end and the temporary company will fade away and all I’ll be left with is that ghostly presence behind me. The vacant hands that’ll circle around my waist and the lips that should’ve kissed mine as they mutter the usual sweet words. Hearing the kettle rumble I pick myself up, keeping distracted from the pinging of my phone that’ll fade within the next few hours. 

*

Sitting on the window seat I sip my tea, taking steady breaths as the radio plays faintly behind me. It feels as relaxing as it could possibly be. The room feels bare without any banners, I decorated the shelves with various cards that brighten the white walls up, but his voice is missing. He would announce himself in each room, sing around the house thinking I couldn’t hear him as he put his all into it. The mornings when he’d sing anything that came to mind whilst I made breakfast were the perfect mornings. 

My phone lights up at my feet, and I pick it up. A smile forms on my face as I place my tea down, unlocking my phone to reply. One quick reply results in the screen to change, his name and a daft photo fills my screen. He took that photo when we were decorating, his face was covered in sunflower yellow paint and he took my phone and took a photo zoomed too far in. Even when he isn’t here, he never fails to make me laugh. 

“Hey.” I speak up, not wanting to ask where he is as with each place my heart drops further. 

Before he speaks I can hear traffic around him, the sound of raindrops hitting an umbrella. “Well, what day is it today?” I roll my eyes, knowing he’s smiling to himself waiting for the response. 

“It’s Tuesday.” I state, not wanting to give in to his games. 

He sighs down the line, “And what does that mean?” I can’t ignore the happiness in his voice, if only I felt in such a manner about today. 

“Dan, I-” Before I have the chance to explain the doorbell rings, and part of me hopes that on the other side of the door it’ll be him. That he’ll be holding balloons and have a flattened fringe from the rain and a big smile on his face. “Someone’s at the door, hold on.” He goes quiet, but I can hear him moving. 

Taking a deep breath I grip the door handle and take my phone away from my ear. As I open it I wear a bright smile, but once I see a stranger, holding a clipboard I feel my hope shatter. “Hey, sign here.” I do as he asks, and he passes me a large box before walking away back to the red van. 

I pick up the box with some difficulty, forgetting I left him on the line. Placing him on speaker phone I drag the box to the kitchen and with a grunt lift it onto the counter. “Who was that?” He asks with curiosity. 

“My secret lover.” I joke and he chuckles down the line. “It was the postman, but I didn't remember ordering anything this big anyway.” Putting my phone on the counter I search the draws for a knife to cut into the box. Moving back to the box Dan remains oddly quiet, “You still there?” I enquire. 

A small noise is head, but not a verbal response. “What was in the box?” 

“Haven’t opened it yet. Maybe it’s from my family.” I try to shake the box and whatever is inside sounds sturdy. “Okay, well I found a knife.” Moving around the counter I have my back to everything, I kneel on a chair to get some height on the box and stab into it, slicing lengthways across the duct tape. 

As I force it open nothing jumps out, which calms me down. “Got it open?” He asks and I remain quiet as I reach into it. 

“Just trying to get whatever is inside.” Grabbing onto something soft I pull out a plush teddy bear with a little bowtie on, looking rather dapper. On his foot stitched into it is my name and today's date. “It’s a bear. Just like the one I had when I was a child.” I explain, unable to stop the small smile forming as my mind wanders to the old bear I had that my Grandparents gifted me for my second birthday. ”That bear went everywhere with me, every holiday, every cry, heartbreak, death, happy moment and film.” 

“What happened to the bear?” He asks softly and I can’t help but sniff loudly, shaking my head to myself, wishing he was here to hug me. 

“Erm, I’m not sure. He just sort of disappeared. By the time I realised I outgrew teddies.” Holding the teddy close to my chest I refuse to let this one go, “I’m just going to see if there’s a note or something.” Standing on the chair I look into the box to see another box inside. 

Lifting it up it is neatly wrapped in tissue paper, it russles as I tear it off. “Found some kind of note? I bet it was your Mum.” 

“Probably, seems like something she’d do.” With the tissue paper disgarded I’m left with a hardback copy of my favourite book, one I have loved for years. “It’s my favourite book.” Opening it, a small note falls face down. I pick it up and quickly scan to find the name, and when I do I allow myself to tentatively read over it. 

Though everyone is away, and it feels as if you’re alone, know you aren’t. I love you with all my heart, everyone does. We all care about you even if it’s a text or a quick call. You told me about that beloved bear, you read that book whilst we sat on planes, in airports, before bed and back in uni. There should be one more thing in the box if it’s arrived properly. Happy birthday, love. Dan x 

“Dan, I, I” Words struggle to fathom in my mind as I rub my lips together, tightly holding the bear in my arms. 

He sweetly chuckles. “You deserve something meaningful on your birthday, even if you’re on your own.” I laugh as I wipe my eyes. “Find that other thing yet?”

Reaching down I pick up an envelope and inside is a USB. “A USB? I mean I know I should really use one, but any reason why?” I ask and he sighs.

“Just get your laptop and play it. When you’ve seen it all, call me back yeah?” He asks and I take my phone off of speaker and place it next to my ear. 

Walking up the stairs I grab my laptop, opening it up and the screen turns on. I fiddle with the USB nervously, wondering what it contains. “Okay, thank you, Dan. I love you.” 

“I love you too, enjoy.” 

With that, he hangs up, and I put the USB in and open up the file. It’s a video. 

‘What makes her unique.’ 

#there will be a second part #as this was a lot sweeter than i anticipated it being #hope you liked it though #bastille #writing #bastille writing #imagines #imagine #bastille fluff #dan smith #dan smith imagine #dan smith imagines #bastille imagines #bastille imagine #bastille masterlist #masterlist

[restlessmaknae]

Heartbreak Hotel; Jae

Take an aspiring song writer, a rebellious high schooler, a sassy English teacher, a passionate painter and an adventurous tour guide. What’s the same in all of them? They’ve all just had their heart broken.

Heartbreak Hotel is a DAY6 angst one-shot collection with 5 members & 5 songs & 5 stories.

Sungjin | Dowoon | Young K | Wonpil | Jae

V. Jae + It Would Have Been

English teacher!Jae x OC’s story in 1033 words. Angst & drama. Triggers: death. I would like to wrap up this angsty series with Jae’s story because the birthday boy deserves more love (and more stories). *-*

The traces of you are all over the flat.

Your favourite pink sweater with that cute little emoji on the front that you’ve always wanted to see on me. The half-open bottle of your smoky night nail polish that you’ve once used to paint my own nails in secret while I was asleep. The bookmark that you’ve made with your own hands using heart-shaped beads and purple ribbons. The frames that you’ve purchased a week ago, so that we can put our pictures somewhere and not between the pages of your favourite books or between the listening tasks for my English classes. The sweet little messages on the fridge that we’ve left for each other saying plain old I love yous or the funnier ones like I know you’ve said that I shouldn’t eat the last cookie but the temptation was too much. The leftovers of your delicious mapo tofu that you’ve made last night because you know it’s my favourite and I had a pretty rough day and you just wanted to cheer me up. The jokes that I’ve told you and that you jotted down every single time, collecting them in a notebook because you said that you would like to save them for later.

Your pink toothbrush that you bought in a package along with a blue one, so that we can use it as a couple thing. The pictures of you and me that you’ve taken with your polaroid camera and which was my birthday present for you the year before because you’ve always been interested in photography but you never had a decent camera. The keychain with a Kumamon figure on it that you bought for me last Christmas and that I’ve always wanted to put my hands on because that was the only missing piece from my collection. All the essays that you’ve written for my English classes because I kept them all in a folder, organised and neat just like their owner. All the tests that you’ve taken during my classes, so that I can see your handwriting over and over again and start missing your handwriting more and more. Your lovely letter after you had got the results of your CAE exam, thanking me because you had passed and it meant that you had the chance to apply for a scholarship in the UK.

Your phone number that you’ve written down on a piece of paper, your handwriting’s a mess but that’s okay because you were in a hurry and I was after another difficult lesson. The pencil on my desk that I gave you and you never once gave it back face-to-face but still secretly returned it, put it in my drawer and bought a new one alongside the old one. The mug that you had given me for our 3rd anniversary which says that I’m the coolest guy on Earth (and the luckiest too because I have such a girlfriend like you). The mug that I had given you for our 4th anniversary that says that you are the most beautiful girl on Earth and the luckiest too because you have a fiancé like me.

Your vanilla and cinnamon scented candles that you adored to light up no matter the season, the weather or our mood. The scent of your mango and passionfruit perfume that lingers around the bathroom because you always spray so much that the whole room smells of you. The voice message that you recorded for me when I was away for two weeks for a training and the one that can still send shivers down my spine every single time I listen to it. The oversized grey hoodie that is my favourite item and the one you always wear after we sleep together. The sight of your worn-out training shoes that you wouldn’t throw out for the world because those are the ones that you wore when we first met.

The traces of you are all over our flat.

Your plants that you brought with you when we decided to move together. Lucky, our dog that we picked out at an animal shelter and whom we took care of as if it was our own child.

The traces of you are all over our flat. Like you never wanted to go. Like you’ve never even wanted to leave. Like you’ve just got home from work, put your clothes on the coatrack and your shoes on the rack in the hallway and headed to the living room to put on some music – one that we both liked because we could argue over music for hours. Like you’ve never wanted to do anything else but to spend time with me and make this whole place feel like home, feel like our home. Like you’ve never wanted to put an end to this fairy-tale that we were currently writing.

Your beloved clock was still hanging on the wall. It was the one that you bought as soon as we moved together because there wasn’t a single clock around and the one that hits midnight at the moment. The same time I received the news yesterday.

The news of your accident.

The news of your death.

It would have been different… oh, it would have been so much different if I hadn’t let go of your hand after lunch and you wouldn’t want to buy medicine for me because I came down with a flu and we had nothing at home to make me feel better.

I should have said that you were enough, your presence was the only medicine that I needed but you still insisted and went out late at night. A drunk man didn’t stop at the red lights and hit you with his car. You died on the spot with a bag of medication in your hand.

I still can’t let go of the our before the word flat.

I don’t want it to be just mine again.

I don’t want Lucky to be just my dog, I want it to be ours again.

It would have been different but I can’t help it anymore. You aren’t here and you never will. Not again.

#day6writersnet #theday6net #angstykpopnet #kpopwritingnet #kreativewritersnet #kkreationsnet #jae teacher au #day6 jae teacher au #day6 scenario #jae scenario #day6 jae scenario #day6 teacher au #day6 angst #day6 jae angst #jae angst #day6 fic #jae fic #day6 jae fic #day6 drama #jae drama #day6 jae drama #heartbreak hotel #my story #restless_maknae

[writesaboutbangtan17]

say you’ll remember me

mingyu x reader fluff, angst, implied smut

6,445 words

a/n: i know some parts of this are so *stares right into the camera* obnoxiously cheesy but guess what? i like this and i just don’t care. i’m currently writing a horribly stupidly long hoseok fic, but i realized the writing had gotten a little stale n asked my bff for a prompt to write a “ficlet” (this was supposed to be 2k or less) and she gave me: mingyu, fluff and angst, wildest dreams by taylor swift (because my mingyu tag is “he’s so tall and handsome as hell”). so ta da, this is what u get

~ in which your young, dumb love will hurt you, will ruin you, has an expiration date…but is so, so worth it

    You never forgot to visit your hometown in the summertime. Of course, it was nice to see your family, but you could see them any time of the year, and saw them often in the fall and the winter. What made the long drive from the city worth it in the hundred degree weather, sun glaring down on the hood of your car and baking you inside of it, was the chance to see the seaside in all its glory. You’d been raised in a humble beach town and you’d seen it a thousand times, but you’d be happy to see it a thousand more. As a kid, you couldn’t say you’d appreciated it much. The town itself and the beach were a little dumpy, nothing to write home about.

    It was the memories you’d created there once upon a time that made it special. As you pulled into a spot in the tiny parking lot and cut the ignition, you could remember late nights in the backseat of a car a lot older and rustier than this one, making your own heat as you pressed your sweat-slicked body to another. You trudged out onto the sand and as it flattened beneath your sneakers, you remembered squishing it between your toes as you watched a certain young man wading in the shallow ocean waters. He’d splashed some little kids nearby, pretending to fall beneath the surface with the weight of their own splashes back at him, and you’d imagined how this scene would look many years from now with children who were the perfect mix of you and him. You’d been 17 then.

    The same old snack bar stood beneath a few palm trees, and you could never forget him buying you ice cream every afternoon, no matter how much you insisted eating one ice cream cone every day would put a thousand pounds on you. He’d wrap an arm around your waist to pull you close, and “I’d still love you,” he’d hum against the side of your head. Every day without fail he’d bump his chocolate ice cream against the tip of your nose, and you’d crinkle it in fake disgust as he insisted on licking it off.

    Not far away was the playground where he’d push you on the swing, the bathrooms where you’d lock yourself in a stall and make out every day, the fancy restaurant he’d saved up for a month to take you to once (and even then, he couldn’t afford for you to get anything to drink besides a water—not that you minded). You passed by them all on your way to the watchtower. No matter how many times you visited the beach, you hadn’t gone up to the top of it since that summer five years ago. But you’d just gotten a great job, made some great new friends, and you were even starting to date someone new—your life was nothing like you’d imagined it’d be back then, but it was still good. You’d told your new partner about your trip, and although it was a particularly teary conversation, you explained why it was such an important one to make. They were the one who gave you the strength to take each step up the concrete staircase, to keep your head up instead of turning and running back to your car.

    The top level of the watchtower overlooked the entire beach. From one side you could see all the way into town, all the way towards your parents’ house where your old teenage bedroom was waiting for you. On the other side, the ocean went on forever. Facing the water, you wrapped both hands around the old splintered railing and looked down between them. Mingyu & Y/N 4E. It was so childish, you’d known even then that it was childish, but it still brought a smile to your face.

    You refused to let the tears at the corners of your eyes fall, and reminded yourself not for the first time that none of this should make you sad anymore. It had been so long, and you’d moved on…but that couldn’t stop the longing in your heart. You wished the waves carrying away the sand and pebbles could wash away the memory of that wolfish grin, the warmth of his calloused hands on your skin, the feeling of loving him so much that you’d give up the stars and the clouds and this whole universe if it meant you’d never have to live a day without him at your side.

    You wished that he had kept his promise.

    “Oh my god, Mingyu,” you groaned as he shoved the small pocketknife back into his jeans, “we’re almost adults, that’s kids stuff. Some kid wanted to do that with me when I was like eleven.” Mingyu rolled his eyes and grabbed your hand, yanking you over to his side as he blew away the wood shavings to admire his masterpiece. You turned your head towards the water, letting your hair fall over your face so that he couldn’t see the lightest of pinks dusting your cheeks at how nice your names looked together—he’d never shut up about it.

    “Who was it? Was it Joonki? Hyunwoo? Hyunwoo has always had a little crush on you. If it’s him, I’m gonna beat him up the next time I see him,” Mingyu ranted, and you knew he was only half-joking. You leaned into his side and reminded him,

    “We were literally eleven, and Hyunwoo hasn’t even looked at me in like three years. When will you ever see him again, anyways?” The tall boy beside you said nothing, knowing you were right. He’d probably never see any of the kids he’d gone to school with here ever again.

    “It’s not like I’m never coming back,” he tried, his voice small, “and I could drive over to his house right now if I wanted to. He lives like three blocks away.” You should have laughed, should have let him believe that his smallest of attempts to lighten the mood worked, but there was so much unsaid that was smothering you. A part of you wanted to beg him not to go, wanted to ask him if he really couldn’t be happy living a simple seaside life here with you. You wanted to tell him how unhappy you’d be without him, how every day the sun would be a little less bright.

    Instead you asked him, “Wanna push me on the swings?” You moved to skip towards the stairs, but Mingyu’s arm around you was tight, and you just fell back into place. He was stiff, silent, and you could feel the melancholy in his bones, underneath his skin. You worked up the nerve to look at his face and wished you hadn’t—you could count on one hand the amount of times you’d seen him look so serious, let alone without a wide smile, and still have fingers left to spare. His eyes were stuck on the horizon, and you ignored the dread building in the pit of your stomach.

    “C’mooon, I wanna swing,” you whined, instead of asking him what was so much better about Seoul than this town, what was so much better about being an idol than inheriting his parents’ business, what was so much better about a life without you. 

     Why didn’t the idea of being apart hurt him as much? Why would he carve these stupid words into this building when he knew they were a lie?

    “It’s late,” was all he said, “we should go home,” and you scoffed. Mingyu hadn’t gotten you home before 2 A.M. in months, and that would be considered an early night for you two. Then again, his train did leave at nine o’clock the next morning. He wouldn’t want to be walking dead when he arrived at his new home. You wrenched yourself out of his hold, turned your back on him, took one step away.

    “Wait,” he stopped you, “there’s…there’s something we have to talk about first.” You didn’t want to hear what he had to say. It could only be one thing, and maybe you could survive the heartbreak if you didn’t have to hear the actual words out loud. “We don’t, though,” you wanted your voice to be strong, but you were practically whimpering, already felt the tears threatening to fall.    “We do. I don’t want to leave you hanging, wondering if you should move on or not,” he mumbled the last part, knowing as soon as the words came out of his mouth that they were the wrong thing to say. A choked sob tore from your throat, and you would have crumpled to the ground if he didn’t catch you. God, at the beginning of the summer, you had really thought that the two of you could make it. You had really thought he’d want to make it work.

    You knew that it wouldn’t, though. His life would be a constant cycle of dance, sing, put on a smile for the fans, eat, sleep, repeat. There would be no time for late night Skype dates or calls during breaks, no time for days back home, no time to love you. Even if there was, you would have to be the most tightly kept secret. Once his group debuted, you knew there would be rabid fangirls constantly ready to riot if their beloved idols were seen with another woman. You could never go out with him, especially not during the day, and not without him in a hat and a mask, unable to show off that grin that was just for you. That was if the company even let him keep dating. Mingyu would try to fight it, try to do it without them knowing, but it’d only make the impossible even more difficult. There was just no fitting you into the life that he wanted, and you had to come to terms with that.

    “Don’t worry, Mingyu, I know exactly what this means,” you snapped. You knew that you shouldn’t be mad at him, but you’d never felt a pain like this before. You never would again. The anger that had come on so strong, so quickly, melted away as you saw those dark brown eyes of his that had never looked at you with anything but love. He looked so beat down, so sad, and he didn’t deserve to feel that way when he was just trying to follow his dreams. You were being selfish—you weren’t worth giving those up for, and he wasn’t worth giving up yours, either. He was just a person. But he became my dream, you thought.

    “I’m sorry, Y/N,” he said, and you reached up to brush away the few tears that dripped down his cheek, “I love you. You know that I love you, right?” You nodded. How couldn’t you know that he loved you? You’d only been together for a few months, but you’d never felt safer, happier, or more cherished than you did with him.

    “I love you, too,” you promised him, “I’ll never love anybody the way that I love you.” It was the truth. Young love was reckless, stupid, painful, but there was no love more sincere. You hadn’t let go of his face, and you traced your thumb longingly over his bottom lip. Longing for a kiss, longing for a lifetime with him that you’d never get.

    He could at least grant your first wish, leaning forward and pressing his lips to yours fiercely. There was no brush of tongue, no lip biting, but it felt more intimate than those kisses. 

     It felt like a goodbye.

     You were drowning in Mingyu’s shirt, one he’d just pulled out of his trunk and thrown at you before he sprinted into the water. It was barely noon, but the day had already been ruined, as far as you were concerned. You’d been awake for barely an hour and only just stepped out onto the sand for the day when a pelican dropped a huge load off on your shoulder, splattering all over your pretty new slip.

    Mingyu, ever the gentleman, had fallen over from laughing so hard as you struggled to pull it off without getting any of the bird poop on yourself. It took him five minutes to compose himself well enough to walk back to his car and get this shirt for you. It was white, with an obnoxious beer logo on the front of it, as if Mingyu had ever had more than one nasty wine cooler at a party he wasn’t even supposed to be at. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he’d given you the white shirt on purpose, waiting for the perfect moment to run up and bear hug you with his big wet body so that the shirt would stick to your skin and show him the tiny little yellow bikini you had on underneath it. Pervert.    

    You tried not to, but with him splashing around in the water and not sitting beside you, rambling and distracting you from your thoughts, they drifted away to those that you’d been avoiding for awhile now. It was the last week of summer vacation. In six days, Mingyu would be leaving to train in Seoul, and it was yet to be determined what would happen to your relationship with him after that. Ideally, you’d try the long distance thing…but that was for normal people, people like you. Not idols. It wouldn’t be long until Mingyu debuted and the most you ever saw or heard of him would be on TV or the radio. You still had a year of high school left, and your own dreams would keep you in school for a long time, far away from him.

    “Whatcha thinkin’ about?” Mingyu popped up beside you, jolting you out of your anxious mind. You smiled and shrugged, “Not much,” deciding to put that off. Today you would be happy. If Mingyu thought you were lying, he didn’t push it. He just grabbed your hand and pulled you to your feet, fixing you with a pout.

    “Come swim with me?” He asked, and you just couldn’t say no to him. You pulled off his shirt and dropped it onto the towel you’d been sitting on, glowering at him when he folded the towel over to cover it.

    “I don’t wanna get bird poop on it,” he giggled, and ducked away from your swat at him. You chased him into the water, and as soon as you were waist deep, he picked you up to spin you around before dropping the both of you down beneath the surface. Holding your breath, you opened your eyes and looked at Mingyu. His were squeezed shut, but he had that signature grin on his face, canines showing and all. You drifted forward to plant a kiss on his mouth, then sprung back up to take a gulp of fresh air. Your boyfriend followed after you slowly, and stayed crouched down so his body stayed underwater while you stood. You looked down at him and if he asked, you’d swear the red on your cheeks was from the sun and not from the way he looked at you like you made the earth go around.

    “Hey, do you wanna eat at at Seaside’s tonight?” He randomly asked, making you sputter through a laugh as you wringed out your hair. The cheapest entree at Seaside’s was forty bucks, you knew Mingyu didn’t have the money to drop on something like that. “But how could we skip out on ramen at Sunwoo’s,” you joked. Most nights you either bummed food off of your friends or picked up something cheap, and on Mondays, you always found your way to your friend Sunwoo’s for dinner. His parents just couldn’t turn the lovebirds away.

    “I’m serious,” Mingyu said, and there was no laughter in his voice, “let me treat you. A queen deserves a feast.” There was no way you could lie your way out of this blush now. Mingyu finally got on his feet, standing at his full height and putting him a good half a foot over you. He shaded your face from the sun, and smirked at the shining scarlet staining your face.

    “I don’t have anything to wear to Seaside’s,” you said meekly, and Mingyu shook his head, “I got something for you.”

    He had the decency to tear the price tag off of the dress he’d picked up God-knows-where, and to admit that his sister helped him pick it out. You’d have to thank her the next time you saw her, knowing Mingyu would most likely have picked out something that just barely covered your ass and held in your boobs. The white babydoll dress stopped a few inches shy of your knees, and had a pretty lace trim on the hem and the scooped neckline. It was simple, but certainly looked and felt expensive. It amazed you that he’d go to such lengths for one fancy night with a girl he’d never see again come a week from now.    

    He’d sent you outside ahead of him when it came time to pay the bill, and you told him you’d wait at the top of the watchtower. The steps were a little scary in heels you’d only bought to wear to a wedding once, and then never again, but you managed. You figured Mingyu didn’t want you around to see how many bills he had to drop on the counter, for which you were thankful. It was nerve-wracking enough just knowing he’d spent so much money, without knowing exactly how much. He had calmly told you when you sat down at the table that you could order whatever you liked, and had even suggested the most expensive item on the menu. After you insisted that you could never finished a twenty ounce, sixty dollar steak, you told him that one of the $20 salads looked good—but when the waiter came, Mingyu ordered a steak for himself and one of the fancy seafood dishes for you, over forty bucks.

    It was something he knew you well enough to be sure you’d love, and you couldn’t be annoyed with him for it, just genuinely curious about what you’d ever done to deserve it or him. This was what you were pondering on when you heard footsteps coming up behind you, and turned to see Mingyu. The sun was just starting to set, and in that light, he took your breath away. He was so tall and broad, filling out his white button-up and dark jeans nicely, with gorgeous bronze skin that he was somehow self-conscious of stretched over his frame, and jet black hair flopping over his eyes. As soon as he reached your side, you pushed his bangs back off his forehead and took another moment to admire him up close.

    “You look prettier than me, babe,” Mingyu said quietly, knowing exactly what you were thinking, as always. You shrugged, “True,” and when he looked offended for half a second, you added, “But you do give me a run for my money.”

    The two of you watched the sunset in silence after that. When there was only a sliver of the sun left over the horizon, and the deep orange had almost entirely melted away to a darker blue, you finally peeked over at Mingyu to see that he had his head resting on his hand, turned entirely away from the water, with his eyes locked on you.

     You sighed and told him, “You don’t have many sunsets left here to watch, you know.” He seemed to concentrate even harder on you at that.    “I don’t ever want to forget what you look like right now,” he whispered, “the sunset doesn’t compare.”

    You had been seeing Kim Mingyu for exactly a month when he showed up outside your house that morning. The looks your parents gave you as you skipped down the stairs and ran out the front door were of exceptional displeasure, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to care when the most handsome boy was waiting for you.

    You fixed the slip over your bathing suit before slipping into the passenger’s seat, and were happy to note that you didn’t even flinch when he wrapped his big hand around your thigh, anymore. Normally, he wouldn’t hesitate to start the car and head towards the beach as quickly as possible, but this morning was different from others. He cocked his head and bit his lip, contemplative, then finally asked,

    “Do you have a change of clothes in your bag?” The tote that you’d put down on your feet was heavy, and that weight did include a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, but instead of telling him that, you had to ask why. Mingyu’s other hand was rubbing the back of his neck as he answered, “I want to take you into the city today.” You didn’t have it in you to be annoyed with him for not telling you beforehand, or for sneaking peeks at you as you changed from your bikini top into your bra and slipped into your other clothes while he drove on the empty country roads leading away from town.

    “There’s a bunch of different street foods in the city, and weird shops that they’d never have back home, and karaoke bars and stuff like that,” he raved, “and there’s so many more people, lots of foreigners.” You remembered him telling you that he’d gone to the city to visit family a few months ago, but you’d never known exactly how enamored with it he was. It sounded fun, but the slower, simpler life in town appealed to you much more.

    He hadn’t been lying about the crowds. It took twenty minutes to get egg bread by the river, and even longer to find a nice quiet spot to sit and eat. Mingyu listed off all the different shops he wanted to take you to, dozens of them that sold things from clothes to stationary to cooking supplies, but you weren’t listening much, more focused on watching him speak. The way his eyes lit up and he stumbled on his words because he was talking so fast made you suspicious. You’d never seen him so excited about anything before

    “Do you want to go up to Seoul Tower?” Mingyu asked as he dragged you out of one shop and right into another. The last had been a cosmetics store that spilled products out into the street, this one was a fancy boutique with cute summer dresses and skirts. You pretended you couldn’t hear him as you flipped through some clothes on the rack beside you, pausing for a moment on a pretty white dress you couldn’t afford. If this were any other trip into the city, you’d jump at a chance to go and see the view from the top of the tower, but you weren’t dumb enough to believe this was any other trip. Eventually, Mingyu would admit the real reason he brought you here, but no matter how many times you asked him what that was, he insisted he just wanted you to get out of town and see some place new.

    He took you up to the tower, anyways, and you wanted to admire the cityscape, but couldn’t take your eyes off of Mingyu. It was as you saw him devour the sight, jaw dropped and eyes wide like he’d never seen it before, that you realized this was where he wanted to be. Ice spread through your veins at the thought. Maybe you’d gotten too close to this boy too fast, diving into him headfirst before you even thought about what his life looked like, what he wanted it to look like in the future. Maybe your parents weren’t wrong for thinking you were in too deep with him.

    “It’s amazing, right?” You just nodded at him. You didn’t know what else you could say. On the ride down the mountain, Mingyu held your hand tight and gushed about some of the people he’d met when he’d been visiting, guys named Seungcheol and Jihoon who took him to the village the cable car would drop you off near. He didn’t tell you how he met them, just how nice and funny they were. You could barely appreciate the scenery there as he kept talking about them, jokes they’d made and funny things they’d done. He mentioned some guys named Soonyoung and Wonwoo, as well.

    “Where did you meet all these guys?” You finally asked him, and he told you, “Oh, they’re friends with my cousin,” and that was the last of that. He got you jajangmyeon for dinner, and as you slurped your noodles in silence, he talked about how many more opportunities there were in Seoul than in your hometown. When he mentioned how much easier it was to get into music and acting and whatever other forms of entertainment, you laughed for the first time all day.

    “I don’t think it’s easy to do it just because you can,” you informed him, and for the first time all day, the smile slipped off of his face. The knot of anxiety in your chest wound tighter at this as your mind went into overdrive trying to pull together all the pieces of this puzzle, knowing Mingyu didn’t have much longer to stave off telling you the truth, hoping you could figure it out before then.    He suggested walking the food off when you finished eating, and led you through the city streets. It seemed he had finally run out of praise to heap upon the place, and you made the mistake of relaxing in the silence, thinking he was taking you back in the direction of wherever he’d left his car so you could finally go home. You shut your eyes and leaned your head on his shoulder, trusting him not to walk you into oncoming traffic. You didn’t even realize it when he’d stopped walking.

    “Y/N, babe,” he sighed into your hair, “open your eyes.” You weren’t sure what you expected when you did, but a wide plain building with the words ‘PLEDIS Entertainment’ hung up on the side of it were not high on the list.    “What, is this the company one of those idols you like works for?” You asked, and felt Mingyu shift from one foot to the other, moving his weight away from you. He pulled his arm out of your hands and turned to fully face you, with his lip tucked tight between his teeth and his eyes on the ground.

    “Well, yes, but,” he took a deep breath, “this is the company that I auditioned for a few months ago. And I got in.” Just yesterday, you’d been imagining what your kids would like, all tan-skinned and sharp canines and thick black hair, splashing in the waves at home every day. I’m so stupid, you realized, why did I think I’d be enough for him? You refused to cry, refused to let this boy who you barely knew break your heart like this, refused to acknowledge the part of your brain screaming at you that the two of you knew each other better than anyone else ever had. You’d never survive this if you didn’t start insisting to yourself that Kim Mingyu meant nothing.

    You blinked at him and said, “Oh, that’s cool.” Then you stepped around him and kept walking forward. Shoulders back, chest out, chin up, you told yourself, do not fucking cry. “Don’t be like that, Y/N,” you heard him saying from behind you, “please, I need you to be happy for me.” You spun on your heel with a sharp smile painted on to your face, “It’s great news, Mingyu. You’ll do well.” Then kept walking.

    It could have all ended right there. You could have insisted Mingyu drive you home, locked yourself in your room for the rest of the summer, never fallen in love with him. But when you heard a tiny, broken “thank you,” from the boy who you couldn’t stand to see without a smile on his face, you couldn’t help it.    “How can I be happy about this?” You asked, stopping at the curb. Mingyu hurried to your side, taking your hand back into his and holding on so tight, so that you couldn’t let go. His other hand locked around your jaw, forcing your head to turn so you could look into his eyes.

    “I know it’s hard, babe,” he said, “but this is my dream. I want to be a rapper!” You almost laughed. Kim Mingyu, the sweetest boy you’d ever met—a rapper. But you could tell he was serious, and you’d never laugh at his dream, just like you hoped he’d never laugh at or dismiss any of yours. Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, the desperation for you to be on board, you knew you couldn’t disappoint him, and under no circumstances could you be the reason he didn’t do any and everything he wanted to and was capable of.

    “It’s really great, Mingyu,” you assured him, and you meant it this time, “I’ll support you the whole way.” The relief that flooded his face was worth it.

    It turned out he did have a cousin in town, albeit a much older cousin with their own apartment that they said you could stay over in. You called your parents to tell them that you were staying over at your friend Soojung’s, and they believed you because you’d never been one to lie before getting mixed up with Mingyu. You remembered that you’d never even told them you were going into the city. They’d kill you if they found out.

    “Sejun’s working the night shift,” Mingyu informed you as he came back into the guest bedroom, “he just left.” You were wearing a shirt of Sejun’s and your bikini bottoms and nothing else, and Mingyu was only wearing a pair of loose sweatpants low on his hips, and you really thought he would have slept on the couch, but he was sliding underneath the comforter beside you before you could say as much. The furthest you’d gone with him so far was just barely making out in his car a few nights ago, but the electricity charging in the small space between your bodies really wanted you to move closer and attach your body to his.

    “Mingyu,” you whispered into the dark, and he hummed back at you. That was all you could take, rolling over to swing one leg over his thighs, effectively straddling him. Mingyu oomfed with the sudden weight on top of him, but his big hands immediately came up to circle your waist.

    “You’re moving to Seoul in a couple of months,” you said, as if he needed reminding, and you could just barely make out his nodding before you dipped down to press your lips to his and swallow his moan when you slowly swirled your hips to grind against his bulge. If anybody back home knew you were so ready to go so far with him so soon, they would think so lowly of you, but you’d never cared less what people back home thought. Now you knew your love story had a deadline, a timer ticking down, and not to a happily ever after. There was no time to waste.

    You tossed your sunglasses into the sand, rolling from your back to your stomach and laying your head on your folded arms beneath you. It was a thousand degrees outside and you weren’t really looking to work on your tan, but what else was there to do? Soojung was supposed to meet you, and at least then you could go swimming with her, but she was already a half hour late.

    It was the first Monday after school got out for the summer, and the beach was packed. You ignored everybody you recognized from school, not seeing anyone you particularly liked, anyways. Kim Mingyu and Shin Sunwoo were splashing around in the water, and they were cute but they were also obnoxious, and you weren’t friends with them, barely even knew them. Mingyu and you had a class or two together every year, but had barely ever spoken.    

    You had just started to drift off into a very warm nap when you felt tiny drops of water hitting your back, and in your head, you cursed the weatherman for predicting clear skies all day. “They never get that shit right,” you grumbled, shifting your weight onto your palms to lift your upper body, and heard a familiar voice ask you, “What’d you say?”

    You looked over your shoulder at Mingyu leaned over you, drops of ocean water dripping from the ends of his hair onto your skin. Groaning, you reached up to push his legs, and watched him fall onto his ass with a satisfied smile before dropping down to get back to sleep.

    “Hey, stop,” he said, “you can’t fall asleep out here, I didn’t see you put sunscreen on or anything.” 

     You snorted at that, “What, like you were watching me?”

    “Well. Uh. Yes?” That was not what you expected to hear, and you felt wide awake now. Daring to look at Mingyu again, you were greeted by a shy grin. You’d never noticed before how his pointed canines peeked out like fangs, and you found it oddly endearing.

    “Do you even know my name?”

    “Of course I know your name, Y/N,” He said, with the most incredulous tone, but you wouldn’t have blamed him if he didn’t. You finally sat up to face him, and somehow kept your eyes from wandering to his chest and abs, soaked with water, shining in the sunlight. It was truly a feat to admire.    “Ok, then why were you watching me?”

    “Because you were laying here alone, and we’ve never really talked before, and I’ll be honest, your butt looks really cute in those bikini bottoms.” You fought a blush, and the words didn’t sound as gross in his sweet voice, didn’t make you want to punch his teeth out, either.

    “Well, your butt looks pretty cute in your trunks,” you told him, and God only knows where the bravery came from to even throw in a wink. You and Mingyu talked for hours, and when Sunwoo came over to ask if Mingyu was coming over to eat, he was waved off without so much as a glance. You didn’t even notice when Soojung arrived and saw you with him, and headed over to somebody else she knew instead of interrupting the two of you.

    “That’s hilarious that you think so, Y/N, but I know that I can eat more tteokbokki than you can,” Mingyu insisted, and if he listened hard enough he would have heard the gears in your head turning, churning up the best bet you could think of, knowing he was wrong. Maybe you’d have him streak across the beach tomorrow, or climb onto the roof of the watchtower.

    “Then you’ll have to prove it,” you challenged him, “tomorrow. We’ll meet here and get some from the snack bar and see who is the Tteokbokki Eating Champion.” Mingyu immediately accepted, smile wide, and you thought to yourself that that was a smile you could get used to seeing.

    He offered to drive you home when it started getting dark, but you wound up in another long conversation as you were walking towards the car, and ended up lapping the entire length of the beach a few times before you felt too tired to go on anymore. When you passed the playground for the fourth time, you beelined towards its gate, and Mingyu followed.

    You ignored the jungle gym, the monkey bars, and the slide, and found yourself perched on a swing, as any normal person would choose. Instead of sitting on the swing beside you like you expected him too, Mingyu walked behind to start pushing you. You ignored the goosebumps that rose as you felt his hands on your skin for the first time.

    “Y/N, what do you wanna do after high school?” You couldn’t say that you’d thought much about it. A lot of kids were desperate to leave town, but you loved it here, and had just expected to work at your parents’ restaurant instead of thinking of what you would actually like to do.

    “I’m not sure,” you admitted, “I just…want to be happy.” Mingyu gave an affirmative hum. You talked to him about anything either of you could think to ask the other, getting to know him like you’d never expected to, telling him things you’d never told anybody, not even your closest friends. Something about Mingyu made you feel so at ease. It was when he grabbed the chains and abruptly stopped your swing, leaning over to grin down at you over the stupidest pun you’d just told, that it occurred to you for the first time: you could fall in love with this guy.

    You could be happy with him.

    Mingyu & Y/N 4E. You brushed your thumb lovingly over the words, and even though you tried not to, thought of that morning that he left. You’d fallen asleep in the watchtower, and when you woke up, he was long gone. The sounds of the first beachgoers cars pulling into the parking lot and excited kids yelling as they ran towards the water twinkled into your ear, and you couldn’t even feel angry that he’d left you here. He had a train to catch, after all, and you only lived a few blocks away. Your tote bag had been sitting on one of the steps, and as you grabbed it to sling over your shoulder, you noticed a little note placed delicately on top of it.

    I’ll never forget falling in love with you this summer.

    You’d kept that note for a long time—it was folded up in your wallet right now. You plucked it from it’s pocket and held it out over the railing, then watched it slowly drift down to the waters surface. It floated there for a minute, before a gentle wave came to carry it away.

    It had taken a long time to accept Mingyu’s decision, but you’d always known that you’d never ask him to give up on his dreams for you, that life would go on after he left. You had to believe that one day you’d have a happy life, even without him in it, and you had to believe that he’d be happy, too. Seventeen had been doing well, winning award after award, every comeback seeming to top the last. You liked them, and it wasn’t just because of the voice that you missed, that you could only hear in song or during interviews now.

    You made the trek back to your car, and decided that you wouldn’t come back to this beach for awhile. One day you’d bring your kids here and they wouldn’t look like him, at all, and you’d buy them ice cream and tap their noses with it, and you’d give them kisses underwater, and you’d push them on the swings and maybe even show them your name carved into the railing on the watchtower. 

    You’d tell them that it was worth it to fall into a love that will never last.    

    And you’d remember the boy with bronze skin and the wolfish grin, and hope one day somebody could make them as happy as he made you, even if it was just for one summer.

#mingyu fluff #mingyu angst #mingyu scenarios #seventeen fluff #seventeen angst #seventeen scenarios #kpop fluff #kpop angst #kpop scenarios #i wrote this #once again i hope someone likes this #and please validate me :) #i wrote this in only a few hours so!!! idk bye

[animalsoffarmsanctuary]

This Week at Farm Sanctuary: Pig Celebrations, Wacky Weather, Caregiver Appreciation, and Snuggle Sessions

They say March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb — but for the past few days at least, it’s been quite the opposite! We started the week at our New York Shelter with temperatures reaching the 60’s and 70’s — but just as soon as this unseasonable taste of spring arrived, it seems we’ve once again returned to a regular New York winter.

Expect the Unexpected

With such unpredictability, our rescued residents aren’t quite sure how to react! Our friends at Explore.org, for example, observed that we kept the fans on in the sheep barn earlier this week to help our wooly friends combat the heat. Since we expect winter to stay around a little longer, it’s still much too early to shear them — that time will come in April, once the weather is consistently warmer. For the time being, however, the extra heat can pose health hazards as their thick wool — intended to protect them from the cold weather we should be having — can cause them to overheat and over-respirate. Farm Sanctuary’s expert caregivers and shelter staff monitor the animals each day to pay attention to any changes in their overall well-being; and we’re thankful to all of you for also keeping an eye out, to ensure our friends stay as comfortable and well as possible!

Wool is a great barrier against the cold, but it’s hard to maintain body temperature when the weather keeps changing! Since it’s still too early in the season to shear, we put the fans on to keep the animals as cool and well as possible. And they also stayed cool by staying in place and napping the days away! Photo by SHNZERMOM, courtesy of Explore.org.

Another thing our caregivers are monitoring? Unfortunately, we’re also dealing with a ringworm outbreak among the cattle. Ringworm is a highly contagious fungal infection that is easily transmissible between individuals — and even species. Fortunately, cattle develop immunity against ringworm easily, and if they do happen to get it, it’s usually just once over the course of their lifetime.

In the meantime, ringworm is here to stay in both our main and special needs cattle herds. And unfortunately, the cold weather doesn’t help very much. With ringworm, there isn’t much we can do to treat it except to let it run its course; and while exposure to sunshine can help with that immensely, we’re only experiencing those really sunny days here and there.

Thankfully, our friends are healing well. And while the ringworm isn’t very pretty to look at, the reality is that sanctuary life is not always pretty. Most of our rescued residents come from extreme cruelty and neglect. Many endure health issues over the course of their lives. But here, they have the freedom to heal and thrive, and to experience life at their own pace. And just as the ringworm will clear up on its own time, our rescued residents may also recover and blossom when the time is right for them — and with your support, the sun may shine through and brighten all of our hearts and lives for the better!

No, that’s not eye makeup that Westley’s donning! Thankfully, his condition looks worse than it feels, and he and his friends are recuperating nicely.

Ringworm makes us all sad, but thankfully, Carlton is also healing well.

 Farm Sanctuary Celebrates National Pig Day!

At Farm Sanctuary, we see each individual as someone, not something — and we support each being we encounter according to their unique needs, preferences, and personalities. In this way, they receive the individualized care they need to thrive as the remarkable individuals we know them to be!

While every day is cause for celebration, it’s always exciting to honor these incredible ambassadors for their species whenever it’s their time to shine. Earlier this week, we celebrated National Pig Day as well as National Peanut Butter Lovers’ Day! As it turns out, the pigs at Farm Sanctuary love peanut butter — a tasty treat with a surprise dual-purpose. Since pigs are bred to reach 250 pounds by the time they’re just six months old — and are not intended to live beyond this point according to industry standards — this excessive growth wreaks havoc on their growing bodies and paves the way for health problems down the road (if they are given the chance at life they deserve). At Farm Sanctuary, we medicate the animals according to their specific healthcare needs — and for the pigs, a spoonful of peanut butter makes the medicine go down! This keeps them health and happy as long as possible — allowing us to celebrate these incredible ambassadors for their species on Pig Day and every day!

National Shelter Director Susie Coston talks peanut butter with some of her friends in the pig barn!

As you can see, all of the festivities left our pig friends a little tired the next day! As the cold front moved in, they welcomed the opportunity to snuggle with their loved ones and savor the blissful lives they are finally free to enjoy.

Perhaps no one embodies this more than Honey — a pig who’s endured unspeakable loss throughout her life, but has learned to love again. Sadly, Honey was born for one purpose: to become a breeding sow, forced to produce babies who were then taken away and slaughtered for pork. But all Honey wanted was to be a mother. It was in her blood — and thankfully, at Farm Sanctuary, she has achieved just that.

In 2008, the Iowa River overflowed and floods ravaged the region. Pig farmers abandoned their farms, forcing these innocent, frightened beings to fend for themselves. Thankfully, Honey broke free, and we welcomed her to Farm Sanctuary. Here, she met Nikki — another girl from the rescue — and she helped Nikki raise her family until Nikki’s passing last year.

Sadly, Nikki’s death left the family in disarray, and Honey once again found herself without a family to call her own. And once again, this sweet girl endured more heartbreak than she could bear. But then, something amazing happened: we introduced her to two piglets, Cameron and Ben David, who desperately needed a mother. And with that, the trio became a family.

Side by side: as though their hearts and bodies were meant to fit together, like perfect pieces of a puzzle. Honey, Cameron, and Ben David savor the peace and warmth they were born to have!

*Yawn!* “I need my beauty sleep before I’m ready for my close-up, thank you!”

Honey and babies all tucked away in their nest — a beloved ritual that mother pigs perform for their children each night!

Nearby, Nikki’s son Chuck prepared a nest of his own in his bachelor pad. Chuck responded poorly to Nikki’s death, growing aggressive towards his family in order to assert his dominance — so we needed to separate him from others for the time being. But just as Honey found her perfect fit, so will Chuck. It’s important that we pay just as much attention to an animal’s emotional well-being as their physical health, and we’re excited to find a good match for Chuck — an individual or group who will help him feel valued as the magnificent being he truly is.

Chuck proudly makes his bed!

Searching for that sweet spot.

Aah! Sweet dreams, Chuck!

Nothing Stirs Things Up Like a Little Wind!

Of course, not everyone responds to cold in the same way: just as each being has his or her own unique personality, different individuals approach life in their own unique ways!

For the goats, especially, windy days are exciting opportunities to show off their silly side! Sometimes, we’re just blown away by how invigorated they feel — and we’re honored that here, they can be the carefree, spunky individuals we know them to be!

Benedict, for example, inspires us to find the good in every day — and to express gratitude for the little things in life that bring us the most joy! When we met Benedict, this sweet boy was ill, weak, and terrified after facing unspeakable cruelty. Sadly, Benedict and his friends were only valued as commodities, and were not offered the individualized care they needed to thrive. Benedict developed neurological issues that went untreated, and as a result, he sustained irreparable damage to his rear legs. But of course, he doesn’t let that stop him! We fit Benedict with a special wheeled cart that allows him to run, frolic, and play to his heart’s delight! And while he spends some time outside of the cart to rest, he still has some pep in his step — enjoying every opportunity he can to live life to the fullest.

It feels good to be at the top! Benedict plays “King of the Mountain” on his hay bale — and your support helps farm animals just like him feel on top of the world each day!

Benedict’s best friend Chucky is also feeling a little silly. Seems like he’s celebrating “Tongue-Out Tuesday” a little early!

Across the farm, Olive — whom we rescued from the same cruelty case as Benedict and Chucky — showed how playful, strong, and proud goats can be, when given the opportunity to simply be themselves! Some of the goats in Olive’s barn came from the same cruelty case in New York’s Hudson Valley; others lived on a “humane” farm-to-table operation, yet had never even stepped outdoors before coming to Farm Sanctuary. But here, we value these incredible beings as someone, not something — and they demonstrate how rich our lives become when we put compassion first.

These days, Olive, the leader of our main goat herd, loves being the center of attention — and she relishes each opportunity to remind her friends who’s boss! Returning to seasonably-appropriate weather was a welcome change for our goat friends, who won’t shed their winter coats until the weather is consistently warmer. Olive and Ian released their pent-up energy through gentle play, reminding us how glorious it feels to “take charge” of our lives and savor the beautiful opportunities we all deserve.

Ian, the challenger, prepares to take on Olive, the reigning barn champion! Olive’s friend Archie “manages” from the sidelines.

Olive rears up for the charge!

Ian became less impressed with her signature move as time went on. Don’t worry Olive, we’re always a fan!

No “butting heads” for long; at the end of the day, they remain the best of friends.

 Of course, when the weather gets a little too nippy, our rescued residents are free to head back to the barn to snuggle with their loved ones and call it a day. At Farm Sanctuary, the animals have access to everything they need to live their greatest lives possible — and we’re so thankful to have you with us every step of the way.

Good night, Chucky! Getting ready to turn in for the day.

With your support, we can protect farm animals from cruelty, inspire change in the society promotes and treats farm animals, and promote compassionate vegan living. A compassionate world begins with you — and we are so thankful to have you by our side, no matter what the season brings.

#farm sanctuary #vegan #animals #animal rights #animal rescue #new york shelter

[jeffreyhowardz]

Want to Know How to Keep Your Dogs Busy When They’re Alone? Find Out Right Here!

Have you somewhere to go? Don’t know how to keep your dog distracted from ruining the sofas? Don’t worry anymore! Here are some tips on how to keep your dog busy when they’re alone!

As an owner, you have lots of things to do. Whether it be going to work or attending a party. Either way, you cannot really avoid the situation where you need to leave your dog alone. Of course, the process is always heartbreaking. Especially when they are not used to being left behind.

So, how to keep your dog busy when they are alone? How can you assure yourself that your dog will do whatever you say? Read further into this article to know! Perhaps then your dog won’t be as lonely as they used to be.

What happens when you leave your dog alone?

When you leave your dog alone, many things happen. They could make a mess on the floor, destroy all of your pillows, and even knock over a bookshelf. Those are all things that dog owners know.

However, what is your dog feeling when you leave him alone? What is it that makes him do all these naughty things? This is something that you first must understand.

When you say goodbye

When you say your farewells, your dog might not understand it. Perhaps they would mistake it as a praise. Or just another jumble of human words.

When you close the door

Even during this time, they are still not convinced that you are truly leaving. They believe that you will come back in a few more minutes. They’d stay near that door wagging their tail.

Realization

This is when they realize that you are not going to come back soon. Their stress levels will increase. Their heart rate, respiratory functions, and their stress hormones are going to rise higher than when you are with them.

This is most likely for dogs who are not used to being left alone. One thing is for sure. Your dog being sad and alone would make us feel guilty. Therefore, the best option is to learn how to keep them entertained while alone.

Before you leave, how are you supposed to keep your dog busy? Well, here are a few tips!

The Busy Treat Bucket

There are four things that your dog loves the most. Toys, walks, food, and you. In that order. In this case, they will not be able to have you for their daily walks. Using the basic math, what is there left in the bucket? That is right, food and toys.

The busy treat bucket is a simple way to keep your dog entertained!

Simply get a bucket of your choosing (it doesn’t even have to be a bucket), fill the bottom with a few treats, and then fill it up with all of your dog’s favorite toys! It’s best to go for treats that will keep the pup busy for a long while. Great options include rawhide chews, bully sticks, and even twisters. Giving them something to gnaw on will entertain them for hours. Not only will they be looking for the sweet smell of treats, but they would also come across their toys.

Layer it with a blanket and repeat the process. For every piece of toy and treats, your dog finds, the more they forget about their loneliness!

Keep running until their energy is being drained

If you are into that active life, go for a quick jog with your dog before heading out. This will drain most of the seemingly endless energy that they all have.

Most of the time, the reason why dogs seem so restless is that they have too much energy to spend. If you drain all of their energy before leaving, then the most they would do is take a nap while you’re gone.

They will not miss you as much when they have already had their fill of fun with you.

Allow them to look at the outdoors

If you have a yard, and the weather is great, let them stay outside. This way, they would be able to see more and not get bored. With so much activity happening outside, they would have many things to focus on. They would be able to have more fun than they would when they are inside of your home.

Of course, there’s also the situation where you don’t have a yard for your dog to play in. There’s the option of opening every curtain. The idea stays. You’ve got to let them see what’s outside of their confinement. Available windows are a must.

Turn one into two

Why not just give your dog a friend to play with? Get another dog for them to befriend. This way, they would not be lonely knowing that there is still someone with them.

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Like all dogs, it would take a while for them to adjust to the new friendship. However, when all is well, things would get better.

With their new partner, they wouldn’t get as lonely whether they be outside or inside of their home. They would have each other to play with and each other to trust in. With a partner, they will feel safer being alone in the house.

Hire a dog babysitter

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Find someone that you can trust. Someone that has spent time with your dog and that your dog is comfortable being with him around. If that person is free and is willing to take care of your dog when you are away, then go right ahead and ask.

It’s easier to get someone to babysit your dog. This way, you would not have to worry if they are chewing something up or if they are sad and alone. They’ve got someone with them. It might not be you, but at least they won’t be sad.

With a dog babysitter, you would have a person who you know would take care of all of your dog’s needs.

Go Modern

During this day and age, there are a lot of technologies that can help you.

Take the Petcube for example. This is a new pet camera that enables you to interact with your dog live. It uses a two-way audio stream. This way, you know what your dog is doing and they know that you are still there for them.

There are many other technologies other than the Petcube. All you have to do is look for them and they will serve you.

Extra Tips and Advice

Let your dog listen to something. Dogs feel more comfortable when there is a little noise. Perhaps turning on the TV or letting them listen to music would do the trick.

Always let a toy that they are familiar with be available to them.

Leave them with a piece of something that smells like you. Take caution and make sure that it isn’t something that they can rip to shreds.

Eventually, we all have to leave our dogs alone someday. We can’t avoid that. However, we can avoid them feeling miserable and alone. When you leave your dog alone a lot of things happen. They don’t just destroy furniture, they feel much more. Using these tips and advice you can prevent your dog from feeling depressed and stressed.

If you think that this article was useful, don’t forget to share this on any of your social media. You might even help out an owner and their beloved dog.

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Author bio:

Hi, my name is Susan, creator of The4legged.com. I love all pets (especially dogs) because they always make me happy and healthy. I want to connect with other pet lovers in the world to share experience in healthy and caring pets. My blog is a way to let the world know that dogs deserve a place in our hearts.

  The post Want to Know How to Keep Your Dogs Busy When They’re Alone? Find Out Right Here! appeared first on Kravelv.

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[chorusfm]

No artist has ever had a success story quite like that of Chris Stapleton. Two years ago this week, Stapleton released his debut album, a 14-track collection of old school country, blues, southern rock, and soul called Traveller. The album didn’t arrive without buzz: Stapleton was one of the most dependable songwriters in Nashville, a guy with (at the time) four number one country hits to his name. He also made his record with Dave Cobb, the producer who had helped Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson craft breakthrough, critically-beloved albums the two years previous. The result was a number 14 debut on the Billboard 200 with 27,000 copies sold; not remarkable, but not bad for a debut artist, either.

For the next six months, it looked like Traveller was destined to become a cult classic. Country music websites—from Rolling Stone Country to Taste of Country to Saving Country Music—unanimously called it the best record of the year at mid-year. Country radio, meanwhile, ignored it, leaving the album without much in the way of mainstream traction. But then November 4th happened, and Stapleton swept the biggest awards at the annual CMA Awards. He also shared the stage with Justin Timberlake for a thrilling two-song live performance that almost instantly went viral. The combined exposure of the award wins and the most buzzed-about televised music performance of the year gave Stapleton an unprecedented 6,000% boost in album sales. He not only re-entered the Billboard 200, but Traveller leapfrogged everything else on the market to take the top spot. No other album in the history of the Billboard 200 has ever re-entered the chart at number one.

Country radio still couldn’t be bothered to play Stapleton much after that, but it didn’t matter. A Grammy nomination for Album of the Year followed, and by February 2016, Traveller had gone platinum. Currently, the album is pushing two million copies and shows no signs of slowing down. It was the top selling country album in 2016 and one of the top-five best-selling albums in any genre. At the time of this writing, Traveller is at 33 on the Billboard 200—seven slots ahead of Adele’s record-smashing 25.

Needless to say, albums don’t arrive with much more anticipation than From A Room: Volume 1, Stapleton’s sophomore album and the first piece of a planned double album. (Volume 2 is slated for a release around Christmas.) When he released Traveller, Stapleton had the luxury of being a best-kept secret. Everyone in Nashville knew he had the songs, the chops, and the voice to be a star, but people outside of Nashville songwriting circles mostly didn’t have a clue who he was. On From A Room, Stapleton is no longer a secret on any level. Instead, he has the challenge of making a record that lives up to a surprise sales juggernaut—one that was universally beloved by pretty much everyone, country fans or otherwise. That’s not an easy position to be in.

But here’s the thing: Stapleton still has the songs. He’s still got the chops. And holy mother of god, he still has the voice. “Seen my share of broken halos/Folded wings that used to fly/They’ve all gone wherever they go/Broken halos that used to shine,” he sings at the very outset of track one, just a single acoustic guitar chord beating him to the speakers. It’s a smart move: as good as Stapleton’s band is, and as solid as his songs are, his voice is what won him those awards, set the world on fire with that Timberlake performance, and turned Traveller into a workhorse. His big, epic baritone both sounds instantly country and doesn’t sound quite like anything else in country music, past or present. Weaned on whiskey and too many weather-worn miles on a dusty highway, Stapleton’s voice has just enough grit to carry the more rock-driven numbers and just enough honey to make you feel every ounce of his regret during the somber ballads.

Both types of songs appear on From A Room: Volume 1. “Broken Halos,” the aforementioned opening track, is somewhere in between, a road-trip-ready anthem not so far removed from the title track (and album opener) from the last record. Track two doubles down on the somber, with a gorgeously aching cover of the Willie Nelson classic “Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning,” while track three, “Second One to Know,” is a barnstorming scorcher with a ripping guitar solo. Just like that, three songs in, we’ve gotten a glimpse of Stapleton’s three main modes.

If From A Room: Volume 1 deserves a criticism, it’s that Stapleton doesn’t travel very far outside of his wheelhouse. After making their breakthrough records with Dave Cobb, both Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson fleshed out their sonic palettes and went in different directions. (Sturgill’s post-breakthrough album was especially radical, drenching everything in horns and strings, and causing some country purists to lambast him for making a record that “wasn’t actually country.”) All nine of the songs that make up the first installment of From A Room would have fit pretty comfortably on Traveller. In fact, the biggest departure is that whiskey, Stapleton’s favorite lyrical theme on the first record, doesn’t turn up once on From A Room.

Frankly, though, it’s good to hear Stapleton doubling down on the spartan classic country sound that made Traveller such a classic. At this point, Stapleton can sell out arenas and play stadiums alongside legends like Tom Petty, but you won’t hear any traces of arena country in these songs. On the contrary, most of From A Room: Volume 1 is made up of barroom country ballads, left sparse and gimmick-free thanks to Dave Cobb’s no-bullshit production. Most of the songs end up sounding like they were written for dive bars or half-empty clubs—though they will inevitably sound just fine echoing through huge arenas and amphitheaters this summer and fall.

Case-in-point is “Either Way,” a legitimately breathtaking song built from nothing other than Stapleton’s voice and a steadily picked acoustic guitar. The song isn’t new: country singer Lee Ann Womack cut it back in 2008, for a much more mainstream-sounding version. Like “Whiskey and You” from the last record (which was originally recorded by Tim McGraw), Stapleton went back through tunes he’d written and plucked “Either Way” for himself. His version ditches the mainstream trappings of Womack’s recording—the light percussion, the dramatic backing vocals, the flickers of pedal steel and fiddle—for a skeletal version that is haunting, pained, solitary, and heartbreaking. “We pass in the hall/On our way to separate rooms/The only time we ever talk/Is when the monthly bills are due,” goes the verse, describing a marriage that has faded from love to indifference. “I’m past the point of give a damn/And all my tears are cried,” Stapleton sings, and for how broken and resigned he sounds, you’d almost believe him. But then the chorus comes around, Stapleton’s voice turning from a whisper to a roar so wracked with emotion that, if it doesn’t send shivers shooting down your spine, you might not have a pulse anymore. “We can just go one like this/Say the word, we’ll call it quits/Baby you can go or you can stay/But I won’t love you either way.”

I firmly believe that Chris Stapleton is the best male vocalist making music right now, in any genre. Traveller offered ample proof of that claim, but “Either Way” makes it indisputable. It’s a song so perfect and so raw that it instantly locks you in its world, and for four minutes, you’re in the darkness of a memory, reliving the worst heartbreak of your life. The first time I heard it, I had to stop working, close my eyes, and just let myself feel the cathartic, exquisite pain of the lyrics and the voice. It’s a work of passion and storytelling that, despite its humble arrangement, begs for your complete attention. There is no better song this year, and I very much doubt there will be.

“Either Way” is probably the only song from From A Room: Volume 1 that lives up to the unimpeachable five-track run that started Traveller—still the best opening run from any album this decade. There is a reason this tune is right smack dab in the center of the album. It’s the eye of the storm, meant to trigger that same “replay side 1” impulse that “Parachute” does when you spin Traveller on wax. But From A Room is leaner and better paced, avoiding the bloat and indulgence that made the back half of Traveller something of an acquired taste. With a runtime of 32 and a half minutes, From A Room: Volume 1 is roughly half as long as its predecessor. And sure, this record isn’t actually finished yet; we’re still getting another disc. But the relatively quick running time is to Stapleton’s benefit, allowing mid-tempo groovers like “I Was Wrong” and “Without Your Love” (or menacing ballads like closer “Death Row”) to marinate in ways that comparable tracks from the last record—“Was It 26,” “The Devil Named Music,” “Outlaw State of Mind”—struggled to do for some listeners. Even “Them Stems”—a lightweight 12-bar blues about being in such a bad way that you smoke the very dregs of your weed stash—feels like it has a place here.

In the future, I’d certainly be interested in hearing something more “out there” and experimental from Chris Stapleton. From A Room is not so much a progression from Traveller as it is a refinement. But it’s also very far from being a sophomore slump. With a voice like the one he’s got, Stapleton could easily cut some pretty shoddy material and still make it sound like heaven. Instead, From A Room is a record filled with extremely well-written songs—about lost souls, broken hearts, and at least one outlaw living on borrowed time—performed by a guy who is completely sure of the artist he wants to be. Bring on Volume 2.

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