#i actually have the green llama. he is the only thing i have ever won from a crane game etc and i love him.

[treasuregamble]

wonky prize plush for @somehownothanks

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

[businessbois]

business! did u see the mcc teams? no prime boys (ive gone dark) but beeduo and dreamnap! also queer team aka scott, one of his husbands (wisp), antfrost, and 5up! tommy is teamed with dad, funds, and conar

- mr scandalous

okay so i was so ready to answer this yesterday but people showed up at my house right as i was about to so i’m getting to it now! i’m just gonna use this to get a lot of my mcc thoughts out

one day we’ll get those primeboys. one day. but like omg this red rabbits team is so cool? like dreamnap is an op duo but also with quackity and michael they’re gonna be so fun!!

bee duo is obviously so freaking exciting! the only reason i’m hesitant to root for the pink parrots is that god himself seems to be working against wilbur soot especially during mccs. i’d be so pleased if this team won though

i think i heard a while ago that 5up was on the mcc waitlist but completely forgot about it until now, but super super cool that he’s in the event now along with ant. wisp i of course adore with every bone in my body and there’ll be a lot of flirty banter on this team with him and scott. i wouldn’t put them super high on rankings just because of the new completely new players, but they’ll for sure be a good time.

i’m so fucking excited for the green guardians. like unimaginably excited. tommy and connor is such a nice duo to watch work together. i remember the mcu they did together and they were so good as a duo even if they didn’t place high in the event. i actually think these guys have such a good shot at winning, fundy, phil, and tommy are all super super good players, like top ten, high a tiers all of them. connor has only been in one mcc, because of pete having to drop and the fact that he was teamed with james charles, im not gonna really say that his performance there is indicative of how he’ll perform in this mcc though. and anyways, quackity was completely new to the event in mcc11 when he was with tommy, fundy, and wilbur and they were nearly in dodgebolt. so super high potential for this team, they’re not only solid but very good in every aspect of this tournament except i’d say possibly buildmart where morale might go down, but even that would hardly damage them overall. not to have an obvious favorite team, but i could talk about these guys forever.

orange ocelots is a super strong team i can already see getting overlooked. any team with pete on it is a strong team, and he and grian’s mcc13 team got 2nd and their mcc14 team got 3rd, i can for sure see these guys in the top three.

yellow yaks is another super strong team. i’m very excited to see the dynamic, punz, the captain, jack manifold, and cpk is not a combination that would ever come to me, but i’m interested to see it. punz is a really good player especially in pvp and that’s where callum’s strength is as well i’d say. maybe that and the sheer power of jack manifold will get the captain his first win?

i don’t wanna underestimate the lime llamas either. obviously mr. gaming is on fire as of late, copping a win in the last canon mcc. oli’s been improving in these last few mccs, his individual coins have gone way up from where they were back when he stopped at mcc6. fruitberries is obviously fruitberries. kara’s a solid teammate and very experienced. they just don’t jump out to me as a top three just because all the other teams are also insanely strong, but they’ll definitely perform well.

i just look at aqua and think “good team.” i wake up to krtzyy notifs that are always “doing some mcc practice,” he and krinios are a tier players. they’re friends with puffy and i think everyone on this team will work super well together. very excited about the puffychu duo on this team and im super happy that niki is feeling good about competing again, especially after she did so well in mcc14.

okay so the only things i know about prestonplayz is that my ten year old cousin watches him and he missed the other mcc he was supposed to be in because of a wedding. he did win an mcm week though i do vaguely remember that. anyways, he seems like a lovely guy, happy he’s finally able to play. fwhip and joel are both like around the top 20 range, i’d put them 25 at the lowest. quig is as always an amazing individual player.

purple pandas kinda insane? illumina’s just coming off his pride win and is always an amazing player. ren and false are both very solid and a good duo. the chemistry and communication on this team will be really great, i believe 3/4 of this team all know each other and i can’t imagine illumina having trouble getting along with them. he’s a great leader and i think they’re gonna be really good

[technobladetimestamps]

Nov 16 Stream Timestamps

Timestamps from Technoblade’s “THE REVOLUTION (dream SMP)”

Link to my youtube comment with all of the timestamps x

Timestamps with hyperlinks below

02:13  “This is a surprise tool which will help us later” / thumbnail isn’t foreshadowing / video thumbnails have to be big / stream thumbnails can be detailed 05:17  “The traitor is actually Jschlatt” / firework crafting 09:50  “The ratio is impeccable” 13:23  “Dream’s in the game! My audience retention rate” / vc with Tubbo & Quackity / traitor Jschlatt theory / “Are you high?” “A little” 14:47  “You’re a bit of a wildcard” “I am the most consistent character on the entire server” / “What’s this about getting into power” / “We’ll burn this bridge when we get to it” 15:54  “You really are such an English major” / “You’re an idiom” / malaphor / “I’m actually speaking twice as much English as you guys” 18:07  “I think Thunder is overcompensating in the chat” / “Where can you see me” “In my heart” (Karl & Quackity) / Karl not leaving vc 20:33  vc with Niki / “Did Tubbo just leave me? I spaced out for 2 seconds” / “You can’t call everyone the traitor” “I can & will” 22:45  “You know it’s an event when Skeppy’s here” / “You know it’s a big deal when Georgenotfound wakes up” / “Everyone leaves me” 23:31  explaining the traitor thing to Niki / “Maybe I’m a sleeper agent” / had to kill Tubbo 25:03  nothing happened with that creeper / Fundy interrogating Niki / “Why did I train her for MCC” 25:54  “Even YOU’RE leaving me” / sad music / “I’m sitting here with 203k viewers & it’s not enough for any of these streamers to bear talking to me for more than 60 seconds” / Skeppy joins vc to immediately leave 28:50  Karl has a gift for Techno / Karl is just here for the animatic 32:21  “At least the chat won’t leave me” / pays for his music 35:01  “I’m going to destroy the government so bad” / “I hate all of the farming updates on skyblock” 37:45  joining a vc / “I just got stood up in like 4...conversations in rapid succession” / “My new years resolution was to make friends & it’s november & I’ve made zero headway” / Eret switches sides 41:53  Ender chest setup / worried about hotbar management / potions > shields   43:13  vc with allies / “Karl you are literally the biggest third wheel I have ever seen” 45:03  angering the dogs / trident combo 47:13  “D!ck with one ball” (Tubbo) 50:25  “Let’s hope Wil overslept like [George]” 53:09  recruiting Eret / “If you fight on our side we’ll make you the King of Burger King” / “He’ll be an executive citizen” / “I’m surrounded by idiots” 54:58  putting Schlatt on the allies list / “Schlatt is an alcoholic high on protein power” (Fundy) 56:47  can’t trust Eret / “I hate it when you’re right” (Tubbo) / Wilbur joins vc 59:50  having a moment with Hubert / “Not even the mobs like me” / sad music / “I just gained 8k subscribers the sadness is gone” / cow pit exp farm 1:02:57  vc with Niki / “I’m going to join the other vc AHHHHH” 1:05:02  “Once everyone meets up...I have something prepared” / “Technoblade when are you not ready?” “When I joined the server” 1:09:38  “Who do you take me for? Of course I’ve read the Art of War. It’s written by Mozart” / battle planning 1:12:18  “This is the betrayal...happening very slowly” 1:13:35  Pan1 / “This revolution is so doomed” 1:15:29  Dream attack / Quackity dies 1:18:07  “Agree Retweet” / “Violence is the only universal language” / “i have a supply” / “Why do you talk in upwards inflections constantly?” 1:19:57  Techno not getting to talk / “He took it all by force didn’t he” / “Fear into Ear” 1:23:50  Techno telling everyone he has a stash twice / distributing blue / mushroom the fox 1:26:49  Tommy talking over Techno again / “Stop going off on your tangents” “We have food at home” 1:29:30  vault reveal / Tubbo stealing emeralds / secret chest 1:32:40  “Shut up bro you are green as shit” (Tommy) / “Everyone give me back my stuff you don’t deserve it” 1:34:41  no netherite swords / “Who’s the traitor” “Promise we won’t be mad” 1:36:31  battle / Technoblade trident maneuvering / giving rocket launchers to Tubbo & Tommy 1:40:27  killing Karl / Dream bringing out the end crystals / fighting invis Dream / purpled switches sides 1:43:57  Dream wants to talk / 309k / group photos 1:46:08  vc with Dream / “But only if my enemy insists” / in the van with Schlatt / “What are you doing in my drug van? It better not be drugs” / Tommy preparing to shoot Schlatt 1:54:42  “We won” / “We killed an old man with heart problems! It only took 20 of us!” / President Innit / subscribe to Technoblade sign 1:55:57  Dream & Techno talk in chat / Tommy speech / “It was meant to be” / “I don’t think anyone is bowing to Tommyinnit” / “Karl don’t be weird” / Skeppy has a disc 1:59:06  Techno being apprehensive on mute / Tommy makes Wilbur President / “I’ll be the president” “I’m gonna veto that” / “Techno...you’ve taught me that government is not the way to go” / Wilbur makes Tubbo president 2:03:20  “I’m not sure I like where this is going x2” / “I’m not sure this is a good ending” / “Team chaos” “Perhaps” 2:06:20  Techno shoots Tubbo / Philza joins / “You think Schlatt was the cause of your problems? No. It was government” / speech gets interrupted / “The government ends here, I’ll kill it myself!” 2:09:23  Phil kills Wilbur / techno yelling for silence / “Tommy you just did a coup...& instilled yourself as president” 2:12:11  “If you want to be a hero THAN DIE LIKE ONE” / wither spawning / killing his former allies 2:15:09  post fight talks / “There will be no new government today. It will be over my dead body” / “Techno was not the traitor” 2:18:50  “I need to increase the crater that is L’Manberg so that no country can rise in its place” / “Mom says it’s my turn on the flame bow” 2:23:51  “What I’m doing right now is small scale. This is the work of an individual. This is nothing compared to the cruelty governments all around the world [inflict]...systematically” / “Llamas are the primary victims of war” / “I just wanna be apart of the explosion” (George) 2:27:06  Techno joins vc / connor joins the server / “I hope you’re proud of yourself Techno” “I kinda am” / Jack Manifold (Thunder) being broke / netherite armor 2:32:30  “Beach episode” / Techno accidentally joins the L’Manberg vc 2:35:16  the base is compromised / “There’s no way Technoblade would put a clock there if it didn’t mean anything” / got robbed 2:37:37  “If you’re going to ask me how I got all these emerald & arrows that’s a story for another day” / explaining the bedrock / “I can give everyone stuff & it’ll be such a flex” 2:40:24  Greek mythology 2:41:45  The Golden Apple / “They didn’t use discord back then they used skype, so can’t invite Eris” / “Zeus the god of feminism” 2:46:02  Eret recruiting Techno to kill George / joining vc / “Let’s stop him before he gets land” / Awesamdude proposing a fight 2:49:08  “No one can kill me I’m invincible” (logs out) / Dream literally names the turtle potions Sam thinks he hasn’t heard of / “I’m at soup” / “It’s not smack talk he just has that many items” 2:53:06  “Stab him Dream, I’ll shout encouraging words” / Techno fighting Bad & Ant 2:56:23  Dream wins / “I think there was this Dream guy attacking you with some sort of weapon” 3:00:11  turtle potions / Dream hyping up Techno about fighting BBH / Badlands negotiating with George 3:04:34  vc with Philza 3:07:00  spider farm afk’ing / lagging Quackity’s computer 3:09:06  smp earth / Phil only logged on to back Techno up 3:10:32  killing George / ���I’m gonna drop his armor off don’t jump me” / not fighting Dream 3:13:00  vc with Karl & Phil / Karl definitely not starting a government / “Chat that was the boring part, don’t leave” / 320k / “Why do we keep scheduling these on Monday?” 3:16:18  “I don’t even want to think about how famous Tommy will be in the future” / “I get a tad bitter” / covid is good for youtubers but obviously bad / “I’m so good at socially distancing” 3:19:51  “Aren’t you tired of being nice Philza? Don’t you just wanna go crazy” / “You should be wary of the old in a profession where people die young” / vc with Eret 3:21:47  “What if you built a slightly larger throne next to it?” /  “How are they paranoid of a mole but the guy with a track record of being a traitor gets no questions asked” 3:25:47  “I’m gonna place a block at the bottom & kill you instantly” / reverse mlg /  emerald rich even with Tubbo’s theft 3:27:57  “I’ll allow it” / upstairs chests robbed / Eret disconnects with the book 3:32:04  armor sabotage bc he thought it’d be 1v5 / crystals are mutually assured destruction / Wilbur afraid of tnt getting blown up early 3:34:11  the diary was actually Eret’s / “He’s gonna tell everyone who I have a crush on. Nooo” / reading the 100 page book / “Can I not win here?” “No” 3:40:14  “This stream has released more serotonin in my brain than the last 6 months combined” / revolution was overcrowded / could improve the crater 2:43:09  “Awkward ten minute period where I’m just sitting there watching them set up a new government but I can’t kill them yet” / Carl is missing 3:44:34  “The one time Technoblade is gonna roleplay & they talk over him” / “CARL” / “As long as Sapnap isn’t the one that took him there’ll still be hope” 3:46:10  “Once you start using end crystals it’s the only pvp that matters & end crystal pvp is so lame” / Webtoons 3:49:10  “What’s going to happen to you & WIlbur now?” “I don’t know, I think I’m chill with Wilbur” / “The only thing that changed is my voice. Zero personal growth” / lines from the first speech that got interrupted / “King George is trending booo” 3:52:00  1 million twitter followers / “O god it’s been four hours...I am not built for this” / did a 13 hour stream once / sub growth goals 3:56:30  “What the heck is Phil watching”

[szopenhauer]

Using the first letter of their name, use a word to describe your partner. meow Where’s the closest church to you?  like 10 minutes of walking 

Last thing you did that made you feel like an adult? look for a job? What’s your favorite picture of your mom? Dad? maybe What’s something exciting that’s happened to one of your friends recently? ask them Do you have any board games? If so, where do you keep them? yep, here and there What were the last things you glued together? two pages of a notebook If you have a collection of anything - where did you get most of that collection? thrift store/second hand

What was the last thing you purchased? food and t-shirt 

What are you wearing right now? pajama all day long sleeves and leggings What did you last order from a restaurant? smth disgusting that I don’t recommend And what restaurant was that from? local

Have you ever seen 50 First Dates? nope

Have you ever read any of John Green’s books? from what I remember If so, which one is your favorite? I don’t like him Are you a protective person? oh well... Does your license plate number contain the number 8? I don’t have a car Were you ever a ghost on Halloween? never Are you a fan of penguins? they’re ok Are you a good painter? meh Before buying a car, do you usually test drive it? dunno if I would  Have you ever met your favorite author? noooo Have you and your best friend ever liked the same person? sorta When was the last time someone called you babe or baby? recently  Do you have an older brother? he’s dead Do you watch Teen Wolf on MTV? I should lmfao

Do you have a movie that you have to watch during the summer every year? wtf Do you know anyone who has a flower tattoo? I believe Marta does Do you like the name Carter? not really Have you ever had a secret admirer? believe it or not but I had at least one How many different languages can you say goodbye in? 3 or more

Do you adore plaid pajama pants? why not

Can you see another person from where you are? my parents are asleep already

Can you curse in a foreign language? I can 

What was the last thing you tripped over? not sure what was last

Do you have anything to say about eels? remind me of Ariel (Ursula)

If you could have a giant swimming pool, what would you fill it with? it’s a secret ;)

When was the last time you ate cardboard? that didn’t happen, ever, in my whole life

What song is stuck in your head? Tame Impala - Borderline

What color is the carpet below your feet? there’s no carpet

Is it raining? no

What was the last thing you laughed at? smth with M.

Have you ever petted a chicken? yasss <3

What about a llama? I wish

Or a cow? petted a bit

Can you play pool? I tried ^^” 

Ever won a game of chess? I don’t recall

Approximately how long did this take? *shrug*

Where you a 90’s kid? I was born in 1992

What color(s) are the clothes you’re wearing? blue and grey

Where were you the last time you kissed someone? sigh...

Are you a godparent? no way

How much water do you drink in a day? 5 mugs?

Do you sleep too much or not enough? depends 

Have you ever gone a full day without interacting with another person? not possible Where were you going the last time you were on a train? Ełk or Warsaw

When you shop at IKEA, do you always stop to eat a snack/meal in the cafeteria? I did  Are there any ways in which you greatly differ from everyone else in your family? for example - I’m gay Do you have any gay relatives? speaking of the devil... Have you ever had to have a pet put down? I’m against that in most cases  Have you unfollowed, deleted, or blocked anyone on social media recently? not last days? If so, what was the reason? I block porn blogs that follow me constantly  Do you know what your vocal range is? no idea, that’s interesting When was the last time you spoke to your parents? this evening What’s the biggest financial mistake you’ve ever made? don’t wanna talk about those mistakes Do you like metal music? not a fan Have you ever turned down someone who didn’t handle the rejection well? could be worse When was the last time you went for a walk? yesterday What’s the longest you’ve ever stayed as a guest at someone’s house? counting my grandma and aunt? if not then one night  Are there any colleges or universities in the town you live in? there aren’t How bad was your acne when you were a teenager? bad Would you rather exercise on an elliptical or a stationary bike? eliptical

Do you know anyone that’s painfully, socially awkward?: ... me? How do you usually pose in your pictures?: make stupid faces to cover my ugliness XD Do you know anyone that absolutely freaks out if you try to take a picture of them?: me again Do you pick on them for it and attempt to take loads of pictures anyway?: stop! If you ever had to take care of a fake baby in family ed - were you a good mother/father?: not applicable Do any of your friends put ‘lol’ in almost every single text they send you?: I do that too so...

Do you like movies more if they’re based on actual events?: prefer fiction What would you do if your gf was hitting on someone else right in front of you?: I would be sad Can you recall the first person you ever drank/got drunk/high with?: John and arab ^ are you still friends?: I still chat on fb with J. but only rarely What did you last stretch the truth about?: hmm... Have you ever had withdrawals from something?: omg  Someone?: that as well How many nicknames can you think of for marijuana?: weed, marycha, Mary, trawka What about the police?: better keep quiet lol Do you know how to use roman numerals properly?: yep Most people who’ve slept over at your house all at once?: 5 Have you ever stapled yourself?: I’m not that clumsy Who would you like to spend the night with?: you know who... Is flirting really cheating?: it is What’s something you own that’s /only/ of sentimental value?: shitload of stuff What song would you use to torture someone?: smth that they hate  Has anyone licked you today?: lmfao  Three things you want to live without?: my problems A random stranger walks up to you and says 'you’re hot’. You say: ...

Do you wear the same shirt multiple times before washing? I might Would you rather be surrounded by maple trees, fir trees, or palm trees? definitely not palms What does your favorite bikini look like? I only own one bathsuit Do you have a balcony? we do have a balcony 

Is Friday 13th REALLY that unlucky? Do you believe in any superstitions? normal day for me (I started to worry when I typed that down - kuszenie losu)

Does your country celebrate Halloween differently than in other places? Poland doesn’t really celebrate Halloween tbh

Do you see many bats in your area? sadly not, that’d be nice

How many board games do you own? mine or family’s?

Newest musical discovery? bunch of Tame Impala songs Last thing you cleaned? washed a wooden knife What exactly do you carry around all your stuff in? I own plenty of bags/backpacks/totes etc. What is your Mercury sign?  still Aquarius Last thing you disposed of? food package and paper kitchen towel Are you good at recovering from injuries? been told How many different public restrooms have you used this week? less than 5? Do you have more piercings or tattoos? equally none What was the last picture someone sent you? selfie I asked for to make a morph out of our faces Did you hear a siren today? I did not What do you typically drink? water

[angelichl]

Any chance you could write a quick 500 words or so of the kid fic?💖and share it with us as a snippet

here it is! 1,398 unedited words of a fic I shouldn’t be writing rn lol (based on this prompt)

“How d’you think it went?”

Louis, who was already changing out of his jeans and into a soft pair of sweats, smiled at him from across the room. “Smoothly. Very smoothly. Why do you look so worried?”

Harry covered his face with his hands and used his shoulder to push the door to their bedroom halfway closed, so it was inviting enough for Charlie to come in if he ever needed anything, but still offered them a bit of privacy to talk without waking him. The exact angle of the door was something he’d never had to think about, until now. It made him nervous.

When he pulled his hands away, Louis was squinting at him. “Babe, what is it? I thought we had a nice day.”

They had, it was true. After picking up Charlie and gathering his few belongings, they’d brought him home and gave him a tour of the house. He didn’t react much at the sight of his new room, lovingly painted and decorated by Louis and Harry over the past few months as they prepared for this day, but that was expected. He’d smiled at the gift basket for him on the bed and that was really all they could ask for—just seeing that flash of baby teeth for a second melted Harry’s heart into a puddle of love and relief.

They had ended the tour in the kitchen and showed Charlie all the food he had access too, reassuring him he’d be given regular meals and snacks, and he could always grab an apple or a cheese stick if he was hungry. The social worker had emphasized the importance of making sure he knew food was always available. So they ate goldfish in the living room, sitting on the carpet and spreading out the old Candyland board Louis had kept from his childhood. It was Charlie’s favorite game, from when they visited him at the CPS center—they’d already spent many hours together counting spaces on the colorful board with their plastic gingerbread men. Harry always got stuck near Gramma Nutt’s house, and Charlie and Louis just thought that was the funniest thing ever.

After Harry lost terribly at Candyland, and Charlie won, of course, they played with a ball outside and blew bubbles in the backyard, bare feet in the grass. Harry was also miserable at soccer, so Charlie and Louis teased him again, playfully, which was apparently becoming a theme. But he was good at blowing bubbles and he got to show Charlie the best technique to get the perfect amount of soap on the wand, so all was not lost.

Sometimes he would look up and catch Louis smiling at him with that look on his face, and then Harry would get that look on his face too, and then they would have to try really hard not to overwhelm Charlie with how happy they were.

Louis made Kraft mac and cheese for dinner, since it was the only meal he was confident he could make without ruining it, and it was something Charlie was familiar with. Louis and Harry had discussed it for hours last week, trying to come up with the perfect meal for the day they would first bring their new child home. All the websites and books they’d read about adoptive parenting suggested comfort foods for the first few months. Mac and cheese was perfect, and Harry’s heart still swooped low in his chest just like it did back when he and Louis were new boyfriends in college and Louis would cook him a meal using the residence hall’s communal kitchen. The sight of Louis stirring the powdered cheese into the pasta at the stovetop was hardly any different from ten years ago, though now they were married and had a home to call their own.

So dinner went well, the three of them sitting around the small dining room table and making conversation about their plans for the next day. Charlie was quiet, but Louis had always been good at getting people to talk, especially kids, so by the time their plates were cleared, he was excitedly describing one of the video games he’d seen on a TV commercial.

Afterwards, they changed into comfier clothes, Charlie in his dinosaur pajamas he loved so much, and watched cartoons on the couch in the living room. Spongebob was still on Nickelodeon, as it was when Harry was growing up, and it still made him laugh.

The first month or two of having Charlie home with them was all about creating and establishing a routine. Having a set plan every day would make Charlie feel safer, knowing he had a schedule to rely on. Knowing he could rely on Harry and Louis. Coming from an unstable home, a home of violence, making him feel safe and cared for was the top priority. Which was why, when the Spongebob episode ended at 7:30pm, they all went upstairs to brush their teeth.

“Book?” Charlie asked, once he was settled in bed. Ever the man of words. Harry was just proud (and tearing up a little) at the fact that he actually asked for something he wanted. Louis looked like he was going through something similar, wiping under his eye before nudging Harry’s back with his knuckles in a gentle, private gesture.

They ended up reading Charlie’s worn-down copy of Dr. Suess’ Red Fish Blue Fish. The little yellow book was one of his only personal possessions, and the thick cardboard pages were weathered and torn. Later, Harry procured a copy of Go Dog Go, a relic of his own childhood. The three of them sat up against the headboard, sandwiched together with Charlie in the middle. As Louis pointed at the words for Charlie to read out loud, Harry stared out at their three sets of legs on the dark blue duvet, two pairs much longer than the other. He smiled at Louis’ bare feet and the tattoos on his ankles, somehow awed by the familiarity in the new situation. He and his husband were reading their child a bedtime story. Their child. Parents, they were parents.

“Goodnight, little love,” Louis whispered, after the light was turned out and Charlie was tucked into bed, eyes closed from exhaustion. He kissed his forehead and brushed his hair, and Harry did the same, whispering the same sentiment. The room was cast in a dull, warm glow from the green frog night light plugged into the wall beside the book case. Charlie was wrapped up in his blankets, clinging to his well-loved llama stuffed animal as he fell asleep. Louis grabbed Harry’s hand as they left the room, kissing his knuckles.

It was only 8:00pm now. Louis was in his sweats and a tee from his college soccer team. Harry was still standing by the door, worrying over nothing.

“You’re right,” he sighed, resting his back against the wall. “It was a nice day. So what do we do now?”

They’d told Charlie they would be in their bedroom, and if he needed anything during the night, their door would be open. They had a small lamp turned on in the hallway too, so he wouldn’t have to walk through the dark in case he had to make a late-night trip to the bathroom or something.

“Come here,” Louis beckoned, still smiling softly at Harry. His intentions became clear when he pulled out a jumper and shorts from Harry’s side of the wardrobe, and began lifting the shirt Harry was still wearing. He let Louis help him out of his clothes, all warm, gentle hands brushing over his skin and making him shiver. Louis was so attentive, so caring, and Harry loved him a million times over.

“I love you,” said Harry, just in case.

“I love you too.” Louis kissed his jaw, his lips. “Didn’t you say you wanted to journal about our first day?”

They sat together on the bed, Harry on the edge with the journal in his lap and Louis behind him, legs bracketing his own. Louis held him around the middle with his face buried in between Harry’s shoulder blades for a moment, before he hooked his chin over Harry’s shoulder to read what he was writing.

Day One: Coming Home…

[dearlazerbunny]

Welcome to Gravity Falls

Pairings: None

Genre/Warnings: None

Words: ~2500

- Summary: After deciding to go exploring, Dipper and Mabel Pines of Gravity Falls find themselves in a very different sort of woods…

Hot and dense was the weather of worn Gravity Falls. Standing in solidarity against the muggy air was the Mystery Shack, which clung to its crumbling foundation with an impressive tenacity. Amongst supernatural attacks and incredulous happenings, the only thing that seemed to contribute to the weathered air of sleepiness the shack gave off was the periods of intense nothings it fell victim to from time to time. Today was one such day: the sluggishness of the oppressive heat permeated the town and left it sitting idly underneath the summer sun. Citizens took refuge where they could, gathering at the local pool and lake, but all in all it was a quiet day in a town that was used to being anything but quiet.

Hat angled to block the sun streaming through the window, Dipper Pines sat on the check out counter that hunkered in his uncle’s Mystery Shack, savoring the shade. His twin sister Mabel sat cross legged on the floor nearby, occupied with her sweater-du-jour; a feathered monstrosity whose emerald plumes were of an undetermined origin. Wendy, the gift shop assistant, stood  languidly at the cash register,  talking in relaxed tone to present company. But mostly Dipper. Clearly, her head was angled more towards him than his sister, so that means she’s talking to him. Right? Right. He adjusted his hat awkwardly and made a half-hearted attempt to understand what band Wendy was dissecting. The unending crush he had on her helped a little in the attention category. 

“Man, that woodpecker has been going at it.” The bird in question had been ruthlessly pecking at a tree for the better part of the morning; Dipper was pretty sure the echoes could be heard in the Bottomless Pit. Wendy threw her head towards the half open window.

“Don’t give up! You got this!” She gave a little fist punch in support of the lone song resonating through the trees.

“Why are there so many of those around here?” Dipper asked, swinging his legs against the side of the counter.

“I dunno man.” She rolled her head around to look at him, tucking a piece of red hair behind her ear. “Why does anything happen in those woods?”

Dipper nodded, acknowledging the point. You know, that’s true. Everything weird that’s happened this summer has been coming from the forest: gnomes, minotaurs, even the diary was hidden in an old tree…

Lost in thought, he barely caught the jawbreaker Wendy tossed him from the glass jar sitting to her right. The sugary blue eye stared up at him. “Don’t tell Stan,” Wendy winked as she tossed a ball into her mouth. “Haha, no- no! Of course not. Haha.” Mortified,  he shoved the sugar into his cheek before he could say something even more intelligent.

The Mystery Shack’s door tinkled an off-key dissonance. “Soos! Hey! Check out my sweater!” Mabel was giddy as she leapt up and sped her way over to the big man.

“Right on! That sweater is awesome.” He looked around, taking in the empty shop.

“Hey Dipper, Hey Wendy.” Wendy nodded in that completely cool and mysterious way that she did. Not that Dipper noticed or anything.

“Hey Soos.” He worked the gumball over to the other side of his mouth. “Nice job being early for work.”

“Thanks man!” He held out his hand for a fist bump, and Dipper obliged. “So, what’s going on here?”

“Not much. Hey, does it seem strange to you that no one knows why there are so many woodpeckers in the woods?” Dipper asked.

“No. Don’t think about the woods. One time I did that and I got a massive headache. Not fun.”

Dipper made a noncommittal noise. “Well, now that you’re here, you and Wendy can handle the shop. Mabel, can I talk to you about something? Upstairs?”

“Okay! Last one there’s a muddy pineapple!” She was off in a streak of green, heedlessly knocking over an entire stand of t-shirts that read “See what all the mystery is about!” Dipper heaved off the counter and dashed after her, smiling at the laughter behind him. They raced up the old wood hallways and up to the attic, eventually tumbling over themselves in fits of laughter and ending up sprawled on the floor.

Elbowing her twin off of her, Mabel suppressed a hiccup. “I win!”

“Yeah, right, you know I won,” Dipper teased her, poking her stomach and releasing the massive hiccup. She sprang off the floor and landed right back where she was, sending them into fits once again. 

“Oh, man.” Mabel wiped her hair back from her face. “Why are we up here anyways?”

“Oh!” Dipper stood up and went to rummage under his bed, emerging with the mysterious six-finger diary he used to navigate Gravity Falls.  “What Wendy said down there, about the forest? She’s right! Think about it- name one weird thing that’s happened that hasn’t come out of that forest.”

Mabel twirled her hair. “Mermando!” 

Fair enough. “Okay, besides him.”

She shrugged. “Whaddya wanna do about it?”

Dipper assumed his best I Have A Great Idea Voice. “I propose we hike into the woods. As far as we can. We know about what lives in the woods- well, most of it- but how well do we actually know the wood itself?”

Mabel grabbed a hairbrush and ran it idly through her mane, ignoring when it got caught in the curls at the bottom. “Can I bring Waddles?”

“Wha- no! Mabel, He’ll just slow us down! Why do you need to bring a pig?”

“Ugh, you never let me do anything fun Dipper!” She chucked the hairbrush at him, aiming for his face but as it is grazing his arm.

“Mabel…” He rubbed what he liked to call his bicep. “I just don’t want Waddles to get hurt.” She softened. “Tell you what- if we go without Waddles, we can sit on the roof tonight and throw water balloons.”

Mabel chewed her lip, considering the (admittedly) very generous deal. “Okay, fine. But you can’t whine about it being all dangerous up there either!”

Dipper rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, come on.” He held out his hand, and Mabel took it, levering herself off the floor. 

“But I am totally bringing the picnic basket!”

_______________________________________________________________

Days later, once the heat had broken and settled into something less scorching, the pair headed off West of the Mystery Shack. Dipper had extensively planned and prepared, boasting a pack stuffed to the brim full of useful things (compass, journal, portable radio…) and Mabel, well. Mabel had indeed packed a picnic basket as promised, as well as an inexplicable small plastic llama she snuck in there underneath the sandwiches without Dipper noticing. Armed with supplies, they headed into the forest following a map Dipper found leafing through the journal. Where it led, neither of them were exactly sure, but it was much better than their previous plan of wandering around aimlessly.

As the day led on, they wound through ravines, hiked up small cliffs, and generally marveled at the seemingly endless wonders of the woods. Flocks of huge predatory birds would take off from the treetops whenever they passed underneath, and caves promised something sinister lurking in their depths. As the sun climbed and then began to set, their food supplied slowly dwindled to nothing more than water. The shadows lengthened and seemed to threaten harm. Unnerved by the silence, barely punctured by the rustling and calling of the wild animals (or.. beings…) Dipper fiddled with the dial on his portable radio. With a crackle, it began to broadcast Gravity Falls’ local news station.

“Today the weather in Gravity Falls is starchy.”

“Oh yeah, I can definitely feel the starch Dipper. Feeeeeeeeeeell the starch.” She made exaggerated grabbing motions in the air in front of her.

They continued on, buoyed by the small comfort of home. The trees seemed to grow smaller as they progressed… Dipper made a note of it in the journal.

“Has it gotten hotter?” Mabel pulled out a water bottle and gulped some down. Dipper shook his head, but made a note of that too. On and on they went, through the rapidly thinning trees and hotter and hotter atmosphere.

“The city pool will be raising its admittance fee to seven dollars, from the previous six fifty.”

“I’m hungry,  Dipper.”

Muttering, Dipper held the pages closer to his  face. “The book said to turn left at the second rock, but we seem to have-”

“Second rock?! We’ve passed two hundred thousand rocks!”

The radio continued its segment on the new exhibit in the local museum on bullfrogs. “This has been Children’s Fun Fact Science Corner!”

If the twins had been listening, they might have noticed that no such segment ran on the Gravity Falls local news station. But they were not, and so the flippant tones of a man they had never heard fell on metaphorically deaf ears. “Mr. Zackwaski is hungry, Dipper.”

Dipper frowned. “Who?

“Mr. Zackwaski!” She waved her pink plastic stowaway near his face. Dipper ignored her sentiment and turned his attention to the now crackling radio. Fiddling with the knob for a few minutes, the lines on his face grew deeper as he couldn’t recover any sort of signal. Eventually it cut out completely, and the two were left sitting in the ever-growing dark, listening to the night sounds a forest makes. A few birds, some coyotes, and was that… whispering? The wind, surely.

“Where are we, Dipper?”

“I don’t know. Pretty far away I guess. But the compass says we’ve only walked- four miles.” He squinted at the sky. “If we hurry, and ignore that hedge labyrinth on the way back, we’ll make it home a little after nightfall.” The radio suddenly hummed to life. They both jumped as the mechanical noise echoed through the trees.

“And now, a word from our sponsors. Feeling Lost?”  Dipper grinned when Mabel nodded her head enthusiastically. “Feeling like life is a meandering spiral into the depths of nowhere? Life is like that sometimes. Sometimes, this  pathetic existence feels like a cruel joke played on us unsuspecting bags of meat by some higher power that is known, and also, unknown. Sometimes, we shudder to think that this life as we know it is pointless. Sometimes, we dare to think about life.” “Big Rico’s Pizza. Because no one does a slice like Big Rico’s. No one.”`

“Pizza! Dipper that’s food!” Mabel grabbed the radio and held it closer, presumably to hear it better. A few flocks of startled birds took off from the nearby treetops.

“I don’t think this signal came from Gravity Falls, Mabel. We’ve been here all summer- have you ever heard of Big Rico’s Pizza?”

“The man on the radio is talking about pizza. I want pizza, Dipper!”

He hesitated, listening to the smooth voice resonating through the speakers.

“We should head back. We don’t know where this is coming from.”

Mabel rolled her eyes and started forward before her stick-in-the-mud brother could protest. “So let’s find out. You’re the one who wanted to figure out the forest. There could be a whole city in there and you’re too grumpy to go and find it!”

“Fine, fine. All right, Mabel, stop pulling on me!” Reluctantly, he shoved the radio- which was now playing music, though the man had previously promised the weather- into his pocket, grabbed their gear, and followed after her. As they walked, the signal became stronger. After squishing over a hill, Dipper realized the soil had turned sandy, a rich gold compared to the muddy brown beneath Gravity Falls. 

“Weird,” he murmured, scanning the journal for any hint that this was normal for the area. Mabel kept amazing pace- he should have promised her there was an ice cream parlor at the end or something, she’d have moved so much faster- but after walking over the hundredth hill and passing the same trees, he grew frustrated with their walking in circles. The mysteries of the forest seemed to be growing thin.

“I spy with my little eye, something that is green.”

Dipper sighed. “Mabel, this whole forest is green.”

“To make it extra hard, duh.” She giggled, elbowing him in the side. He smiled in spite of himself. “That tree.”

“Actually it was the third branch on that tree, but I’ll give it to you anyways. Your turn!”

They lobbied back and forth between themselves as the shadows grew longer beneath their feet. Fascinating spied objects ranged from “that vein of sand near your pinkie toe” to “your weirdo birthmark” (Dipper didn’t appreciate that one). After a few rounds, Mabel suddenly ran through the clearing. 

“I spy something that is purple!” Her voice rang from between the trees. “What are you talking about? The only thing here is-”

He stopped. Rising before them was a weathered, faded sign with drippy purple writing: WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE, established… Dipper wasn’t entirely certain that was a number. The boards were warped, with edges chipped and scored with- claw marks? Further on, they could catch glimpses of small houses and buildings tucked into the dusty desert. Desert? He was 99.9% certain where they were standing should not resemble the Sahara, and yet, here they were. Looking back, the massive trees that had surrounded them for months seemed small and immaterial compared to the dunes and sun rising before them.

Mabel, to her credit, seemed completely unconcerned with the change in scenery or her brother’s incredulous murmuring. “Come on, Dipper! I think I see a road-” She fearlessly scrambled up the nearest sandy hill and kept on, her brother tailing behind her, too deep in shock to do much protesting. Underneath his incoherent mumblings and Mabel’s happy chatter, the man on the radio was speaking:

“Well, Night Vale, it seems we have some unexpected visitors. There are two small life forms entering the East part of town. One wears a hat marked with a tree, and the other a green sweater. Undoubtably, these are marks of the Whispering Forest- perhaps it has started reproducing through humanoid figures? In any case, dear listeners, be on your guard- the Forest is rarely as innocuous as it seems. More on this story as it develops.”

A/N: Because no one can convince me that Gravity Falls isn’t located inside the Whispering Forest…

[ishouldreadthat]

For YALC this year, I thought I’d do something a little different from my standard book haul or uninteresting list.  Behold, The YALC Diaries! Although I’m beginning this post after Friday’s festivities have come to an end, I’m planning to write this up as a play-by-play of my favourite book event. Here we go!

  YALC Eve

I was really nervous about YALC because I didn’t want it to be a repeat of 2017.  Last year, I was so incredibly shy that I only spoke to the three people I knew well, all of whom were pals from Edinburgh rather than my little group of online bookish pals.  I desperately wanted to meet people, but I wasn’t really active on Twitter at that point and just didn’t feel comfortable walking up to strangers and saying hi. This year, I wanted that to change — and it did!

My first stop on Thursday was to Forbidden Planet, which I had never been to before, for a pre-YALC book signing.  I ended up purchasing Sweet Black Waves, a Tristan and Isolde retelling written by a medievalist (who is the coolest thing, by the way), I Am Traitor by Sif Sigmarsdóttir, an Icelandic author who was so incredibly kind and lovely, and The Loneliness of Distant Beings by Kate Ling.  I ended up with signed copies of all three, two of which were personalised (I didn’t even realise Kate Ling was standing next to me at the time –oops!).

I also happened to meet Jenn, the fabulous blogger and owner of Literary Galaxy, and her boyfriend Jordan.  She’s someone who I’ve been chatting with for ages, so it was amazing to meet her in person!

  Thursday haul:

Sweet Black Waves by Kristina Perez

I Am Traitor by Sif Sigmarsdóttir

The Loneliness of Distant Beings by Kate Ling

      Day One

I couldn’t resist

The first day of YALC is my favourite.  I scope out the publisher stalls, have a wander, (hopefully) see some people I know, and figure out what the plans for the day are.  I find that you can spend the weeks before YALC planning what you’re going to do, but there’s no way to account for everything.  Plus, publishers have stock of everything on the first day, so I always shop for the books I desperately want to buy.  Friday is the best book buying day of YALC!

I spent the majority of the morning checking out the stands and the giveaways.  Last year’s proof and ARC drops were insane, so it was really nice to hear that publishers were doing fairer book distribution via giveaways, raffles, lucky dips, and gift with purchase.  I actually ended up landing my second most desired proof, Girls of Paper and Fire, from the Hodderscape stand. They were giving them away when you bought two books!  I am so incredibly excited to have my paws on this beautiful book — I’ve been eyeing it ever since the cover and synopsis were revealed.  My first proof was one of the best!

Next, after trying Gollancz’s lucky dip to win a copy of The Girl King (this was a theme throughout the day — I attempted five times and didn’t win!) with Jenn, I bumped into my friend��Nikki, who revealed that the Sourcebooks stand was giving away copies of Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix, a book I had no idea would be at YALC and is one of my most anticipated releases of the year.  You can only imagine how fast I ran to I bolted and managed to get a copy with my purchase of Roar and Bruja Born.

The rest of the day was filled with proof drops (I managed to snag a copy of Damsel by Elana K. Arnold, which sounds amazing), signings, raffles (for Lifelik3 and Vox, neither of which I won so I bought copies), more book buying, and meeting or reuniting with amazing bloggers and bookish people!  It was a really fantastic day. As I was leaving, it actually began raining! This may not sound too exciting but I swear I hadn’t seen rain in months at that point, despite living in the UK. We got about an hour of thunder, lightning, and pouring rain, all of which occurred as I was holed up in my sister’s flat admiring my books — bliss.

  Friday haul:

Vox by Christina Dalcher

The Book of M by Peng Shepherd

Hunted by Meghan Spooner

All the Ever Afters by Danielle Teller

Bruja Born by Zoraida Córdova

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie C. Dao

Damsel by Elena K. Arnold

Roar by Cora Carmack

Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

Lifelik3 by Jay Kristoff

  Day Two

  Saturday is notoriously the busiest day of YALC.  It’s the day that the major signings take place and the day that most people are able to attend.  Put those together and you have absolute madness. Fortunately I had Scottish Fiance with me, who got to experience YALC for the first time.

This was the day that I acquired the fewest books and got the most copies signed.  The first queue I waited in was for Frances Hardinge, who is one of my favourite authors despite the fact that I’ve only read one of her books.  We went to her panel and then she signed my beautiful illustrated copy of The Lie Tree (and drew a goose!). Next was some more giveaway attempts (all failed — curses!), followed by Samantha Shannon’s signing.  I was lucky enough to get a good spot in line because the queue was cut off! See other people’s posts for a much better breakdown of the poor queuing system — it was so disappointing.  Being in Samantha Shannon’s line did mean that I couldn’t try to queue for Tomi Adeyemi, which was a major disappointment, but I honestly think I wouldn’t have made it into her queue anyway.  There were over 300 people trying and I was having lunch when it started.  Priorities.

I did manage to get books signed by Kiran Millwood Hargreave, Tom Pollock, Lauren E. James, and Melinda Salisbury (points to Scottish Fiance for chasing her halfway across YALC when I froze and refused to go up to her).

The rest of the day was spent meeting friends like Julia from JuliasBookcase, Jess from ReadbyJess, Vanessa from VanessaKPhan, Helen from WatchingSparks, and many more!  A few of us even got a photo together:

  Most of the day was spent in queues, so there’s not much to report in terms of new books, but I did pick up five new books and got five signed.

  Book haul:

After the Fire by Will Hill

The Red Ribbon by Lucy Adlington

The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon

The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon

We See Everything by William Sutcliffe

  Day Three

I nearly missed the third day of YALC!  There were public transit issues (which I discovered as I was on public transit, funny enough), road closures across London, and rude men (well, one rude man).  I actually gave up on trying to go and tearfully went back to my sister’s place. Author Sister and Scottish Fiance sat me down, put a duvet on me, gave me a cup of tea, and let me calm down.  After an hour or so, I mapped out a slightly complex route and hit the road. I ended up making it to YALC about two hours late, and I’m so glad I went. I love Friday’s at YALC, but Sunday was easily the best day this year.

I immediately hopped into Muhammad Khan’s signing queue — I Am Thunder was an eye-opening and wonderful book that I absolutely loved.  I met him, had a really lovely chat (he remembers me from Twitter!) and got my copy signed. After that, I went to check out what books the publishers had left on their stands.  I ended up at the Waterstones stand with Jenn and got some amazing book recommendations from Alwyn Hamilton and Laure Eve and had a fantastic chat with the two of them. I bought some books, then continued to wander around and bought some more.  I hit up the Geeky Clean stand and bought one of their NPC Crates, which I absolutely love, as well as a lovely jewelry stand.  I also managed to finally win a proof copy of Beneath the Citadel on my third attempt (!!).

After hanging out with pals for a little while longer, the day was coming to a close.  I entered a Twitter contest for one last proof and then I went down to London Film and Comic Con.  I had a wander to find an artist stand for my pal Asha. It turns out that their artwork was so amazing, I bought a print for myself and plan to get some more!  I also bought a llama because I couldn’t resist this face:

Meet Clive the Book Llama

  As I was heading out, I got a notification that I won a copy of The Familiars in the Twitter contest!  I got lost trying to get back up to YALC but made it back in the end and picked up my copy. I said goodbye to friends and headed to the train station (I ended up at the wrong bus stop and had to be directed to the right one by the marvelous Alwyn, she really saved the day).  Scottish Fiance and I met up at the station and headed home, weighed down by exhaustion and over 40 books.

  Book haul:

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria

The Familiars by Stacey halls

Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi

The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes

Chasing the Stars by Malorie Blackman

Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge

Show Stopper by Hayley Barker

The Wren Hunt by Mary Watson

  Final non-proof book count

  Final proof count

Books from home that got signed!

I’m so incredibly happy I got a chance to go to YALC all three days.  Thank you to everyone I met and hung out with — you were all so welcoming and wonderful.  It certainly wasn’t perfect and there’s a lot of room for improvement — I highly encourage you to reach out to Showmasters if you had any issues — however I still ended up having a really great time.  I cannot wait until next year!

  Bonus: Jason Momoa kept walking through YALC because the green room for LFCC is up with us (or he has a secret passion for YA literature.  It really could be either).  He was our mascot this year.

  Did you go to YALC this year?  Did you pick up anything good? Did you have a good time?  Let me know!

My #YALC roundup is finally up on the blog! The YALC Diaries #bookblogger For YALC this year, I thought I’d do something a little different from my standard book haul or uninteresting list.