#okay but seriously make sure you check out the whole telephone. everyone who participated is so cool and talented

[flame-shadow]

I can finally share this wooooooo!

My piece for the massive telephone game that @bowelfly valiantly organized. I'm the 28th entry out of 72!! See all of the pieces in the 2024 Gigaphone here!

[tomlinshawexchange]

Tomlinshaw Exchange 2017 Fic List

Thank you to everyone who participated: writers, pinch hitters, betas, britpickers, and readers!

Here’s the full collection on AO3. 

Do You Smile To Tempt a Lover by allwaswell16  Nick Grimshaw is entranced by Louis, his very beautiful, very cheeky new coworker at The National Portrait Gallery. He watches him day after day, wondering what he’s furiously typing on his laptop over lunch. With a little help from the very bored barista in the gallery cafe, Nick finds himself growing closer to Louis than he ever dreamed possible.

Now that you’re here, I never want you to leave by wearetheluckyones “You like him,” He sing-songs, tugging off the pasta container’s lid. “Go fuck yourself.” Nick tells him as he finds plates, no actual bite behind his words. “Did you get the extra garlic bread? You ate it all last time.” “You gonna ask him out?” Harry asks, taking the two foil wrapped garlic breads from the bag and putting them on the counter. “I’m gonna give you the same answer I gave you last time you asked me that.” “You’re into him, he’s into you, what’s the big deal?” Harry asks, frowning, accepting the plate Nick hands him and dumping half the container of bacon and feta gnocchi onto it, and half the container of penne arrabbiata next to it. “You should just ask him out. There’s no harm in trying.” -*-*- Or, the one where Louis’s a drummer, Nick’s a radio DJ, and Louis’s dogs are menaces.

some velvet morning, years too late by tintedglasses A better adult probably would have changed their emergency contact information once they had convinced said contact that they wanted nothing to do with them, but Louis had never been very good at proper adult things. Besides, it’s not like he thought he’d ever need it. Or: Louis wakes up in the hospital with unfinished business at his bedside. Turns out Nick has some unfinished business, too.

(no such thing as) ordinary, love by dizzy Nick is an Uber driver in London and Louis ends up passed out in the back seat of his car.

The Sky At Night by sunsetmog There’s a little piece of paper on his bedside table, torn from the bottom of a notepad. Insomnia Alliance, it says, in Louis’s chicken scratch handwriting. 9pm-7am, then the telephone number. Or: Louis can’t sleep, and Nick’s the one who answers the phone in the middle of the night.

you can’t take the sky from me by mrsenjolras “Alright,” Nick says eventually. “You can stay till our next stop. But it’s not gonna come free.” Louis stiffens. He’s got money, sure, but he’s worried that that’s not the kind of payment Nick is looking for. “Oh, don’t look so scared,” Nick says, though. “We’re not stopping till we’re in the next system. Can you work?” “Oh,” Louis says, relieved. “Yeah, I can do pretty much anything.” “Great, well, welcome aboard the Pig Dog,” Nick says, extending a hand out for Louis to shake. Louis takes it, decidedly not thinking about how it’s larger than his own and also very warm and quite soft, and instead cocks his head. “Wait, your ship is called the Pig Dog?” [Or: the one where Louis stows away and gets more than he bargained for.]

Cigarette in my left hand, whole world in my right hand by wearetheluckyones Harry’s had some really bad ideas before, starting with the time he got pissed and jumped into the Thames stark naked, but this might take the fucking cake. Offering up Louis as a viable option for a model for Nick’s last photography project is ludicrous at best and a disaster waiting to happen at worst.

Know You Know You Got It Bad by taggiecb “I heard you on the radio.” Louis says. Okay, definitely not what he expected to hear. “Yes, I am on five days a week, sometimes more.” Nick replies. Seriously, what is up with this kid? “No no. That’s not what I meant.” Louis shakes his head and sighs heavily, as though Nick is the one being cryptic. “I heard what you said. To Fifi.” Louis pauses, but Nick takes a cue and stays quiet. He has a feeling that the more he talks, the longer this thing is going to draw out. Suddenly Louis is getting close, really close. Like, so close that Nick is wondering if Louis is about to kiss him. He doesn’t of course, he’s moving to talk into Nick’s ear. Which, Nick isn’t going to lie, affects him almost as much as a kiss might. The boy is fit. “About the chains and whips.” Now it’s Nick’s turn to blush and fumble Or Where a glib comment on the radio leads to one very interesting few weeks for Nick.

Those Summer Nights by YesIsAWorld Nick’s whirlwind summer romance ended when he left his dad’s beach house. Now it’s the first day of senior year, and Nick needs to avoid both the most popular boy at school and his friends’ probing questions.

Give Me One More Night With You by EmmyLouWho Louis turns up at Nick’s door on Saturday night, carrying a bottle of wine that he’d picked out at random at a Sainsburys on the way there. He’d spent ages trying to figure out what you were supposed to wear when you’re going over to somebody’s house so they can thank you for looking after their dog but really you were effectively keeping their dog hostage and you also think that that person is really cute and you’re trying not to be weird about it. His Google search had been, perhaps unsurprisingly, not very helpful. Or, the one where Pig turns up on Louis’ doorstep one day, and Louis has a crush.

Somebody Hurt You (I Know A Place) by writcraft An unexpected encounter brings Nick and Louis together but before they can tell anyone about their relationship an attack on Louis tears them both apart. Nick struggles to deal with the fact Louis no longer remembers their time together as Louis struggles with his injuries and nightmares in the aftermath of the attack. Together they help one another to heal and learn how to love all over again.

There Now, Steady Love by Jiksa Nick’s just had his heart broken, Louis is surprisingly careful with it. Or, the one where Nick’s a small time radio DJ & Louis’s a single dad trying to make it as a musician.

Go On, I Dare You by pwoperninjaelf Nick and Louis are camp counsellors that have spent their past few summers working at an American summer camp, eager for the paid trip abroad, but far less keen on one another. On the final day of camp last summer though, they ended up drunkenly hooking up, but never spoke about it again. Nick’s still not entirely sure what went down and why Louis bailed on him, but it’s okay. He’s just going to ignore it. Ignore Louis, which shouldn’t be too hard considering that’s what he’s been doing for the past few years already anyway. This summer is going to be just like all the others, honestly, nothing’s changed… An American summer camp AU, featuring two stupid boys who keep getting their wires crossed, a host of other familiar faces, all the old school band t-shirts and a camp that should probably keep a better check on their counsellors.

your crooked sleep beside me by nicalyse Louis Tomlinson is unexpected. In which Louis comes on the Breakfast Show and Nick starts to fall for him.

not that good of a person (but i might be for you) by neonmoonlight “Do you fucking mind?” Louis asked tensely, glaring at Nick. “You know, I thought naming your old ship after a greek goddess was some quirk of yours,” Nick started then gestured towards the book that Louis placed on his shelf. “But clearly, you have a thing.” “You make one more comment I will abandon you on a dying planet,” Louis said, turning back to his bag of things. He heard Nick scoff behind him before he left and let the door slide shut. Louis closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself down before he went back to fix up his space. The one thing Louis wanted was for Nick to leave him alone, but that clearly wasn’t going to happen. or the one where nick and louis hate each other until they don’t and there’s a spaceship.

If This Is To End In Fire by Jiksa Apocalypse makes it sound a lot more glamorous than it actually is.

What about us? by octoberrose11 Ducking his head he mumbles out, “One of them might have passed out but her friend caught her before anything bad could have happened. Anyways! Don’t change the subject!” “What subject?” Anton drops himself gracefully into Liam’s lap, holding onto his shoulder to steady himself. “Who kicked Harry’s puppy?” “He’s mad that Tommo and Grim are practically fucking on the dance floor.” “They are not! They’re friends, barely friends. They only can stand each other because of me.” Twin unimpressed looks came across the other two’s faces. “I’m going to pretend that it’s the drinks that are making you act like that, Styles, because the man I know wouldn’t say such a thing about one of our best friends.” Liam waved Harry off when he opened his mouth to protest. “You dated both of them, Harry. You broke both of their hearts.”

It’s Like I’m Shootin’ With Broken Arrows by Saori  Road trips are fun if you’re going with someone you can connect with. Riding on the highway with the radio on, eating junk food, taking selfies and making meaningless conversations, bantering about directions… That’s not exactly the case with Nick and Louis. There might be less connecting and more bickering. or, Nick and Louis miss the last plane, and they have two days to get to France. Traveling together might be the worst and best decision in their lives.

It couldn’t get better they say by happilylouie  When Louis Tomlinson releases his new single “Miss you” he is set to appear on Nick Grimshaw’s morning show. Nick has a long time crush on Louis and maybe, just maybe, Nick can gather the courage to say something this time. What if Louis song is inspired not about a general situation, but maybe about a certain radio show host that he himself has had a crush on for a while. or Should be laughing, but there’s something wrong - How about we’ll make it right?!

I’ll Be Your Pride by YesIsAWorld  Louis needled Nick into riding the Ferris wheel with him so he wouldn’t have to ride alone. Of course, they get stuck at the top and Louis has to help Nick through his paralyzing fear of heights.

This is different than in the movies! by definitelynotafan  In which Nick’s new flat is haunted and the ghost has a weird thing about shoes.

All the Silver Moons by YesIsAWorld Nick wakes up in a strange hotel room and is apparently visiting Louis on tour. Which is really weird, because Louis doesn’t like him and they’ve never hung out without Harry as a buffer. And clearly Louis thinks they’re *together* together and Nick hasn’t the faintest idea what’s going on.

[detectingdiva]

Rich W. from the YTC Club chillin’ with Abby

Detectorists from all over the east coast descended on the Catskills, June 16th to 18th  to attend Blackthorne Resorts Lost Treasure Weekend, in East Durham, NY.  This hunt has been an annual event in the metal detecting community for years—how many years, I’m not sure, but I’ve been hearing about it and wanting to attend since I started this hobby, and this year I finally got the chance.

My pre-event impression was a cautious one. Since I knew a lot of people who had been to this event in the past, I asked around about it a bit, and was warned about the resorts food, and lack of guest communication skills.

I found this out first hand while trying to get information about the hunt and confirmation of my booking.  It was a frustrating effort, so I advise all those who wish to attend this hunt in the future to employ the old fashioned telephone call method.  Calling will confirm your reservation, but make sure to write everything down, because you will probably need that information when you check out.  And don’t expect the usual itemized bill when you depart, write it all down–trust me on that.

Once you get through all that and arrive at the Blackthorne though, you will be pleasantly surprised. The resort is in a word, “Whimsical”.  It has that old world charm that you might remember or expect from a resort in the Catskills.

The charm comes from the details, which you will notice immediately.  All around you, wherever you go there is attention to detail.  From the teapots hanging on poles, to the duck pond with a mini working mill wheel, and colorful retro beach chairs by the pool, you’ll be sure to notice something new each day.

My room was nice.  It was clean, with air conditioning, a huge bathroom, sliders facing the hunt field, and a pleasant decor.  I had been told by previous attendees to make sure to  upgrade to a plan A room, which I did, and I did not see a plan B or C room, so I cannot make a comparison, but my accommodations were just fine.  Compared to some of the other places I’ve stayed in the Catskills, this was a total upgrade, with no “old motel creepiness” factor.

The Blackthorne is also a pet friendly place, so I brought my dog “Abby” along.  The pet fee was only $5.00 per day, which I thought was reasonable, and Abby thought I was just the best Mom for taking her to see her favorite thing in the world… people.

I arrived, checked in, got the dog settled and gathered my gear to board the bus, which was to take us around the area to various natural hunt sites for the day.  When I got to the bus, the driver informed me the bus was full—seriously?  I paid extra money, and reserved early, to make sure I had a seat on the bus.  I thought that pretty much sucked, but there were 7 or 8 cars following the bus, so I carpooled it with Kevin and Joe from the Nor’easter’s club.

The first site we hit was an old house, and everyone was out of their vehicles, donning their rain gear and ponchos as it had started raining on the way there.  It was a bit confusing because all those that were on the bus were privy to the details of where the hunt boundaries were, and were off hunting already.  The rest of us were on our own.  I asked a few folks if they knew where we were supposed to hunt, and they didn’t know either, so I just stayed near by, since I wasn’t even sure who was in charge yet to ask.

I found an old button, and saw some folks hunting in the wooded back yard area, so I went in that direction.  I don’t think I was there 15 minutes when it suddenly grew quiet.  I looked around and saw people walking back toward the road, so I quickly went back to the car, and yup, they were packing up to leave already.  We couldn’t have been there more than a half hour, and I was a little confused, but thought, whatever.

We went to the next site, and I got my gear on more quickly, thinking a half hour was all we were probably going to get.  It was an old farm house with a small yard, and folks were running around hurriedly digging signals.  I was on my third hole, when I suddenly heard someone yell “Lets go”.  I looked around, and saw Jeff from my club, with a look of disbelief, questioning the person who had said it.  Jeff had just found a large cent—who wants to leave immediately after finding a large cent, or any coin, or even 7 minutes after starting to hunt?

People were starting to get annoyed.  No one could understand what the heck was going on,  but we continued on, following the bus to the next site.

We ended up at an old house from the 1700’s, with a good size yard and field area to hunt.  The owner gave us the history of the house, then we were off.  No one knew when they would pull the plug and tell us we had to go, so it was like a mad race to see if you could find something.  I pulled out a few wheaties, and a neat black marble, and then made my way back to the parking area because I didn’t want to be left behind when whoever was in charge decided it was time to leave.

Woody from the Pennsylvania club pulled out a nice reale, and it was like the most perfect reale I had ever seen.  I was so happy for him, and everyone was checking it out and taking photos.

Complete with strippers pole

I also checked out the bus.  I was told there was a stripper pole inside it, and I was kind of thinking, no way, but I took a look anyway, and yup, there was a strippers pole inside the bus and half the seats were removed around the pole/strip area.  The mystery of why there were no more seats left on the bus was solved—You just can’t make this stuff up.

We were told that bus was the only bus available for rental on that particular day, so thats the one we got.  Now maybe I’m being too critical, but I don’t really think so, by pointing out the obvious, which is, that if I were putting on a hunt, and needed a bus for a certain day, I would reserve that bus far in advance to make sure an adequate one was available—just sayin’.

Anyway, we then moved on to a ball field, which I assumed we were going to hunt but was told, no, this is where we are having lunch.  I didn’t care about lunch, but then we were told that lunch wasn’t ready yet and we were going to hunt the field.  I got all rain geared up, went out and dug my first target, then someone came over and said lunch was being served.  OMG–I wasn’t alone in voicing my frustration of this bus tour/hunt, while I removed my gear once again, and then made my way to the pavilion.

I expected hotdogs and hamburgers, but instead they served us Chicken Cordon Bleu, rolls, gravy, potatoes, salad, etc…. It was catered by the motel, and delicious.  I was surprised with this sudden great meal, under a pavilion, at a ball field in the rain, and still confused by this whole hunt scenario.

After we ate, they quickly herded us back to the vehicles for our next site, which was a motel.  After I geared up again, I found the “leader” of this caravan and asked him where exactly we could hunt.  His response was “Just hunt, if you go someplace you’re not supposed to, I’ll let you know”.  I was like, um, okay thanks, but in my mind, I thought “What an a**hole, this hunt is ridiculous”, then I wandered around aimlessly swinging my machine, having lost interest in being a participant anymore.

As predicted, 20 minutes later it was back to the vehicles, and on to another site.  I just went with the flow, because what else could I do?  When it was time to go, Kevin (our driver), was no where to be found.  A brief search ensued, and when he appeared, he showed us the reason for his tardiness—he had been busy digging up a gold ring!  Way to go Kevin!  At least someone had time to find something.

The next site was the remains of an old motel.  They gave us a good 40 minutes there, and I did manage to find a watch, a buckle, a key and some clad.  It’s hard to enjoy yourself though when you don’t know how long you will have to hunt, and are afraid to turn your back to dig a signal, because when you turn back around everyone may have disappeared, or are waiting on you.

After that it was over. Everyone went back to the motel except for about 8 of us who went off on our own and hunted a permission for an hour or so, until it was time to head back for dinner.

Dinner was great. Whoever said the food wasn’t very good at Blackthorne, I feel was mistaken.  All the food we had all weekend was great, and there was plenty of it.

After dinner it was time for the Moonlight Madness seeded hunt, and everyone donned their headlamps to search the field for tokens.  It was kind of fun running around in the dark, and I ended up with 10 tokens for my efforts.

The tokens were cashed in for prizes, which, for some folks were great, but for me, they were “meh”.  Most of the prizes were coins, which I have absolutely no interest in unless they are coins I’ve dug myself.  They had a trunk of junk, which was just that, and I really didn’t need anymore junk, so I settled on a hopefully useful claw like item, that I supposed was an old garden tool?

The rest of the weekend was more of the same.  A lot of food and seeded hunts, more tokens, and more coin and junk prizes.  A group of us went off on our own during the day and sought out permissions, but except for Rich W. from the YTC club finding two coppers at one of them, they didn’t really produce much else.

Despite my frustration, and dislike of seeded hunts, when the weekend was over, I couldn’t really say I had a bad time, nor can I say I wouldn’t go again next year.  I might pass on paying the extra fee for the now infamous natural hunt bus tour, but it was still metal detecting, and the best part of the weekend, and most of  the reason I was there anyway, was the people.

There are so many folks I’ve met through the years in this hobby.  Some of these people live quite a distance away, and the only time we really get to hang out and detect together is at these events.  There is always a lot of laughter, reminiscing and an all around good time.  This hunt was no exception.  It was the people who made it.  The evenings hanging out, having a few drinks, laughing at most everything, especially inside jokes (i.e. Tom Foolery), which I have to include here, as it was one of this particular hunts inside jokes that a lot of people reading this will understand.

There is also the opportunity to meet new people, and make new memories and friends, and those new acquaintances will be the folks you look forward to seeing at the next hunt.

Metal detecting is just one of those hobbies that brings people together.  I can’t quite put my finger on one thing about it exactly, as there are so many great people and things about the hobby.  I mean even if its been a few years since you’ve seen someone you hunted with or attended an event with, when you see them again, its like no time has passed, and you know that whether its a sucky hunt or not, you’re going to have a great time anyway.  I like to describe that feeling as camaraderie, but its just so much more than that…

More photos below–Happy Hunting!

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  Blackthorne Resort's Lost Treasure Weekend 2017 Detectorists from all over the east coast descended on the Catskills, June 16th to 18th  to attend Blackthorne Resorts Lost Treasure Weekend, in East Durham, NY.