#I’m gonna queue this post a lot so like prepare to see it multiple times

[jaxyscreams]

“Hey besties, this is a call to action. I need a few things from you. First, I need you to watch this video in it’s entirety and then I need you to take one or more of the actions that I mention in this video.

Right now there are a group of indigenous people that are fighting to stop Line 3. There is currently is a pipeline that runs from the US to Canada that is being abandoned.

It has over 900 anomalies and over the next few years will begin to leak crude oil into our environment devastating not only the indigenous community but the planet and millions of Americans.

And rather than cleaning up this mess they are simply abandoning it & creating a new pipeline.

Now there are a number of indigenous people protesting this and they need supplies. So if you can donate please donate to these [ $quiiroi - Cashapp/Venmo. @/quiiroi - PayPal. 3rd direct donation ]

And if you can’t donate what you can do is amplify this message so that other people the can donate will. And if you’re an American you can text “SIGN PBGBUD” to 50409 to reach out to your reps to let them know to stop Line 3.

And finally you can go to Stopline3.org to sign petitions and educate yourself on what’s happening with Line 3.”

The person talking in this video is Jory (she/they pronouns) on the tiktok account alluringskull

If you want updates direct from the people protesting go to the tiktok account quiiroi

[reddeadreference]

Blog Progress Update (Travel Blog Style #18)

I’m working on filling up the queue, which is why right now it posts once a day at noon my time until I can get a lot more in there then I’m thinking maybe 5 a day? (lemme know what you think is a good number. I’m gonna get at least 50 posts in the queue before starting the bigger number I’m at 15 now.)

I am up to date with the audio clips, so now I’m adding as they’re added now until they’re all up.

Working my way through the story so I can soon free roam without worry (though honestly I’ve spent days in Lemoyne where I’m wanted and have had no Pinkertons or law show up…)

My main focus will be completing mission posts and Lemoyne. (Starting Scarlett Meadows, Bayou Nwa, then Bluewater Marsh.) If there’s a place you want me to focus on after that just let me know.

Doing one of my favorite missions Goodbye, Dear Friend. I love that lil wave Arthur gives from the roof. 

“Arthur, here’s a ladder.”

Yeah thanks buddy I’ll take the stairs…

I know it’s just a fictional villain… but the satisfaction of seeing Colm realize he’s not getting out of this one… This is for Kieran you fuck… (I mean and Jake Adler, and Annabelle of coure.)

FUCK I FORGOT ABOUT MARY’S LETTER FUCK

Okay going to the reservation and I’m getting all those photos out of the way

Greeted Javier

“Won’t even sit next to me no more?” (wasn’t said in a questioning way but the captions had a “?” … like BRUH I just walked over, gimme a chance. “You just worry about that cough” Javi pls…

*Arthur sits*

“Some mess this is”

“yUP.”

*4 seconds later Javier gets up*

DUDE

Ya know.. I never really cared for Trelawny when I first played this, but the guy’s grown on me and it hurts to see his goodbye with Arthur because he knows he won’t see him again (Trelawny knows he won’t see Arthur I mean). 

“I’ll be back.”

“No you won’t. Let’s not pretend no more.” Arthur pls…

Music as you escape with Charles and Monroe is very good fleeing music. (There’s a lot of soundtrack music I need to add to playlists)

“I’m afraid.”    *inhuman noises* T_T

Okay only chapter 6 missions I have left are the bridge and everything after the EF one where we knock down trees.

So APPARENTLY at some point they added a 6 gold bar treasure hunt. I’m going through the maps, got to the turtle… looked at it… and shouted “CHELONIA” while pointing at my screen but no… it’s the mysterious hill home (Hobbit home) because that drawing is on the top of it... does that mean that’s a Chelonia thing? Anyway John’s gonna have 7 gold bars.

I also never mentioned I like the addition of seeing NPCs out in the world like napping or reading by a tree with their horse nearby and the ones at camps that let you sit with them and tell you about stuff..

So I barely touched the exotics quest and I need to because I need the cutscene screenshots with ARTHUR first. Anyway Arthur been wandering the swamps of Lemoyne wary of nite folk, he met the Soothsayer that he totally forgot existed. 

These birds are a pain in the ass.. And not just because it’s terrifying whenever the screen starts shaking cause there’s a fucking gator nearby even when it’s a little one that won’t kill me. If you shoot a bird and it lands out in the water be prepared for terrifying gator munching sounds that make you think you’re about to die. (though now I’m using the save and load method. So I’m getting there…)

I had a bunch of photos for multiple places and I KNOW I didn’t delete them and I remember putting them in the folders with their labels… but now they’re all gone… *inhale* FU-

I’ll probably be able to finish chapter 6 once I finish the exotics quest… cause I’m pretty sure that’s the only non-story thing I have left to do that Arthur CAN do (though i do need to find 3 more william encounters...). So far I got a fuck ton of Heron plumes which is good cause I’ll need 20 but not enough spoonbill which is bad cause I’ll need 30 and I need 2 more of each of the other plumes… ugh

I’m also trying to get any places I KNOW will look different in the epilogue cause I want two posts for those.

[onyourzeus]

11:48 am | pjh

title: 11:48am pairing: park jaehyung (of day6) & you genre: fluff, bullet style words: 2.1k

author’s note: mmm i’m kind of meh about this but i jus really needed to write so i don’t lose motivation, but this is just a short fic requested by this anon asking for a lazy day scenario with jae. hope it’s still an okay read.

any requests? check my pinned post if i’m accepting any at the moment, thanks!

once you receive a specific text from jae on a regular day

“whatchu doinnnn” 

you know he’s wondering if you’re not busy, and if you come hang out at his place

which, for the majority of the time, you always tell him “not much. y?”

even though you’re 99% sure of what he wants out of you

you have already made your way to a coffee shop before he had replied 

“same. wanna do nothing together? :)”

so u get two coffees: one americano and one vanilla latte (as much as you want to cut down calories here, there is no way you can drink just water and espresso by itself

you decide on getting two sandwiches as well, it’s close to noon and there’s a high probability that jae just woke up and he hasn’t even moved from the bed

you’re lowkey happy that jae texts you first (assumingly) during days like this because, honestly you miss the 6 foot lanky nerdy soft boy a lot

jae has a habit of keeping to himself during his downtime, especially now 

but with him streaming and having new friends through the platform has helped him socialize and feel a sense of normalcy from the world, which you are really glad for 

he’s mentioned how much he misses doing band activities but doesn’t really elaborate on them

he think he talks about it too much and that you wouldn’t want to hear his repetitive whining

you don’t have the needed bravery in your heart (yet) to tell him you will never get bored or feel burdened by his thoughts, no matter what they entail

so for now, when he asks of your presence in his lovely abode— you make time for him. always. 

even if it’s just a lazy day of doing nothing

you knock on his door and text him at the same time. you look around his neighborhood and enjoy the peace and quiet outside. you wonder if jae’s soundproof walls work well enough for his next door neighbors this time. you had told him multiple times that sungjin wouldn’t appreciate the noise too much, and he if he wanted to play he can do so at your place 

however you never suggested that last thought. it swam in the sea of your thoughts one too many times but it never came to shore. you thought too much about the implications of that idea

besides, what good came out of reminding him of his streamer noises is that he finally has an apartment of his own

and you don’t feel as shy or out of place whenever you came over to the one he shared with the boys 

“oh hey, wasn’t expecting you,” jae had opened the door and you snap out of your wondering

he greets you with drowsy eyes, a full yawn and long strands of hair sticking out everywhere 

you huff out a breath and show the goods in your hands. “you’re definitely gonna need this.”

his eyes light up as he recognizes the contents of the paper bag

“whaaaat you shouldn’t have, i was about to order for delivery,” he tries for an innocent tone but the goofy smile on his face makes that extra trip to the cafe worth it

“you’re welcome, jae.”

lazy days with jae come in two ways

number one: absolutely the title. you crash on the bed, he scolds you for it but then you feel his crushing weight on top of you for revenge or

you hog the couch, splay your legs until jae does the same thing and entangles all your limbs together it becomes a semi wrestling match

number two: he’d end up wanting to do something all this time, either jam on his guitar or play WoW with you in the background, just watching

commenting on things you have 0 knowledge about, and him dismissing every words you say with a random scream from his end

“you’re so bad at this lmao”

“NONONO STOPSTOPSTOP NONONO”

“is the riff supposed to sound like that? ew” 

“you want your face to meet my guitar? :)” 

yeah, banter between you can be brutal like this which is why it gets a little embarrassing to be your true self with him when the others are involved 

today, jae seems to just enjoy sipping on his iced coffee while tippy tapping on the floor to sit next to you on the couch

??? how can a grown man do something puppies so effortlessly pull out… just as cute if not even better??? 

usually, silence isn’t how the two of you spend lazy days together. once he’s thought of a topic to talk about, however out of this world or mundane it could be— the conversations you share are what you cherish the most bonding with jae

“you ever think about the first piece of a roll of sliced bread?”

“you mean the weird looking pieces no one ever chooses first and leaves it there until there’s none of the good slices left?”

“the very one” “what about it?”

“you’re that slice of bread”

“well yeah? jokes on you, you’re the OTHER piece. there’s two in a pack dumbass” 

one would mistake this as insulting, but this is how jae shows his affection to you, and you wouldn’t want it any other way

there’s a certain comfort in just.. not deliberating whether you’d overstep a line or say something that would be misconstrued. with jae, you appreciate the candid friendship you mutually benefit from

his sarcastic personality can be a pain at times when not needed, of course, but when you’ve missed him so much it just feels right

“jae your legs are too long for the couch get a new one.” he had taken over the other end of the couch with his legs over yours, and you’re trying your best to make the position comfortable

but being inches close to his socks and noticing that he’s intentionally moving his feet about just to annoy you

“you get me a new couch so we both fit here”

“bro do you know how empty my wallet is rn” 

“as empty as your love life?”

“oh we’re talking about ourselves right now? ok cool”

he scoffs at your comeback, but he remains speechless and gives you room to breathe. you panic for a second thinking maybe, this is the unexplained boundary he has to draw a line on? love? 

but he puts down his already finished americano, and looks back at you a deadpan expression

you sit up as well, nerves creeping up on your arm. you didn’t want to take it too far and in your defense, this isn’t the first time you teased each other about your, well, non-existent romantic endeavors

“jae, i—”

“oh my god did you see your face?? i was kidding chilllll” he starts to burst into a fit of laughter, the kind where he loses air and lolls his head back 

this time you pout, reaching over to flick him on the forehead. his 6th sense had improved a lot overtime being with you as he blocks your hand away from his face, and sticks a tongue out

“you think i wasn’t prepared for that anymore?” he taunt, locking his grip around your wrist

“now you’re just making fun of me” >:(

“you get really puffy cheeks and look adorable when you’re mad” 

“THAT IS NOT A VALID REASON!!”

eventually he lets you go, pats your head then proceeds to just ruffle it as messy as his, and in an instant your mood changes again

you shouldn’t lie to yourself anymore, you love jae’s company and it would kill you if he’d one day decide he’s too old or too “mature” for moments like this

you get winded up with denial of having a crush on your best friend, and you’re so sure he knows at this point

because he reels you back into the present and challenges you to a game os super smash bros

and when he loses, he does it again. and you win again, and this time he says it was just a warm-up and he shouldn’t go easy on you anymore

and then you win again, and you’re the one cackling in the air at his look of defeat as well as the 6 losses he had endured during the matches

“man you’re getting rusty”

“am not! i’ve just been playing WoW too much i’m not used to switch controls anymore…”

“sure buddy”

“HEY, 1v1 me in league right now, i dare you”

“no”

“WHY?”

“you only have one desktop, stupid. i didn’t bring my laptop”

“oh so by default I win :D”

nothing can ever get away with jae, he always needs to have the last laugh with you and at times it’s frustrating, but his carefree charisma has grown on you so much that you anticipate what else he has in store to give you a hard time 

jokes on him, you fall for jae just an inch deeper the more he treats you comfortably this way 

it’s only been an hour or two, but jae had decided that he’s done enough productive stuff for the day (read: losing too many times) and invited you over to chill on his bed

it’s not an uncommon sight for the both of you to lie next to each other, taking turns with queueing up music on spotify. songs you and jae love together, and those that are new to your ears 

sometimes, you’d talk over the playlist— it becomes more of background noise as jae asks you about your day, the days before that, and what you’re planning on doing in the future

he doesn’t ask for specific answers, he likes to hear how you’ve been feeling, emotionally so

jae has always been intrigued by other people’s perception of themselves, of the things around them, and of what they think of the universe in the back of their minds

it was a little too much to handle, those questions of his, when you first were just getting to know each other

but he eased into it naturally, confessing about his love for the moon— its beauty in appearance, and the beauty of its purpose

which made you think… you’re in love with the moon too, not just what you see in the sky

but what you see right next to you right now

jae had given you enough time before to open up about your own thoughts, struggles, and share secrets with him. it didn’t take long until you found the trust between you and held onto it for dear life

lazy days with jae can be just that— lazy, loafing around the house, stealing a chip or two from each other’s bag, falling asleep to the sound of lofi music on the speaker

but it can go this way too: with jae explaining how good this one song can be, the metaphors every verse carries with the melody. “you’ve always heard of chocolate eyes or whatever, but blueberry? and to describe the setting sun as strawberry skies? amazing, GENIUS” 

and you laugh, and listen to the same song over and over as per jae’s request until he overpowers the original vocals— and you don’t complain, there’s not a sound you love to hear on a lazy afternoon than his low register, the kind of singing he does just for the heck of it. he’s not exerting too much range, too much work on the words he sings— he’s just doing so to comfort him, to bring life to the room, to dwell on each poetic verse’s meaning

i’m so lost in your blueberry eyes

he finishes singing, and the playlist shuffles to an instrumental lofi track with an upbeat, charming rhythm to it

jae keeps his eyes closed, smiling to himself probably proud for his faux performance

“you done gloating in your head yet, jae?”

“shut up i’m feeling the moment”

you poke his shoulder with yours, and you’re suddenly hyper aware at how close the two of you are.. physically, right now

he turns his head towards you, eyes fluttering, lips slightly open. he catches you staring, and it’s too sudden for you to look away and pretend it’s not awkward at all

“what are you doing?” he asks, a lilt of teasing on his voice but his eyes never leave yours 

“sh..shut up,” you quip in a small voice, looking down on your laying bodies before turning away, cheeks warm

“wait what? what i was asking a genuine question—”

“i was.. feeling the moment, okay? god jae you’re annoying” you mutter under your breath, a lousy response to cover up the pounding in your chest

“this moment feels really nice, doesn’t it?” he says next to you, quiet but gentle

you pause for a second, taking in his words and letting go of the smile you’re trying to hold off on

your heart is still racing, but there wasn’t a need to worry about stumbling with your feelings

if jae himself is enjoying your own company right now 

“it is. if it’s with you, it really is.”

[jebentnietalleen]

By now most people have read and seen a lot about the convention already, but since I said I would write about it (and because I like to be able to look back on my own experiences later), I'll ramble on for a bit...

First and foremost, it was a pleasure to meet and see other Tumblr users and fans of skam in general, I loved being in a room with so many like minded people 💖🙏🥰 . I've never been to a convention before so it was truly special. I wanna give a special mention to

@chelouelou

​, meeting her was one of my personal highlights and I am so glad we hit it off just as well as we did online. She is the sweetest person and a ray of sunshine, and we had multiple laughing fits for no good reason. All lovely things imo 🧡😍🙌✨

Some random facts:

I almost drew a braincell at La Petite Ceinture so I could write 'the skam france galaxy braincell' but I chickened out last moment because it felt like sacrilege

Every time we saw one of those step scooters we felt triggered

Every time we saw someone carrying a baguette we laughed

Elise brought everybody clown noses

La Petite Ceinture is absolutely calming and just a great experience to visit 

About the convention:

We arrived around 9:00, and because we already got our passes the night before (the organization for that was also shitty, we arrived at 17:30, which was suppose to be the time that they would open up for the passes, and left at 21:00. They were not prepared, everything arrived in boxes through out the night, we had to wait a long long time) we didn't have to wait in line and sat on the floor for a bit while we waited for everything to start. We sat next to a large glass window, and suddenly we heard some fans shrieking in excitement. We looked up and saw Maxence walk past us, and let me tell you, that alone was quite an experience. Mannequin elite, indeed. There is just something so alluring about him, it's even more apparent in real life. We were all very nervous and also excited about the whole day, and this hyped us up even more ngl. We saw more cast members come in, Coline, Paul, Robin, Leo, and probably more that I can't remember. We got called into the big room where the panels were held, at around 10:00.

After a short speech by the host, and a video introduction of all the casts (which was lovely and I might post later, I don't know if anybody posted it yet? I haven't seen it) the cast of skam france came on stage. The crowd went wild, naturally. They got a standing ovation. The energy was buzzing. Axel was joking around from the first second, he was talking with Maxence and with the boys and with Zoe, making jokes the whole time, even gave the host what looked like a slap on the ass hahah. He looked very hyped up. The whole cast looked very happy to be there.

The duo photoshoot was suppose to start 10:15 but started around 10:45 instead. So the day already started with a delay, and because a lot of events had some overlap (for example they couldn't start the group photo shoot if a few cast members were still busy with their duo's) it had a sort of domino effect throughout the whole day. There was a lot of waiting and a lot of standing around. When I was in line for the duo photoshoot, Axel and Maxence were both hugging fans they met before (even though it wasn’t allowed, which I still don’t understand tbh) and one girl wanted to do the Polaris hand holding bit with Axel and he went with it and looked at her so softly it was a lot okay, I hope that girl is still alive. I saw Maxence do the same thing with another girl during the same shoot, so they stood back to back with the girls in question (the picture later became famous because of the manip smh) And just before it was my turn, Maxence draped himself over Axel and they hugged with Maxence standing behind Axel and Axel reached up to touch Maxence's arm. This wasn't for a photo they weren't even facing a camera, this was just them being their caring selves. They were really sweet together the whole day, as everyone has seen by now.

We had to wait a long time for the panel to start, and they started way later than planned. Maxence was still busy with his duo with Rocco and Assa and Lais also came in later. Everything was in French and the host translated. I considered going up to ask a question (tell us more about the 90% social media content that Axel wanted to do that went too far lmao) but the queue filled up so quickly and I knew there was a limited time for the cast, so I didn't. In the end it's probably for the best seeing as they went on for a half hour longer because Axel is the literal best and I will not hear anyone say anything different. I thought the host did a good job, but I still think a lot of details got lost in translation because he obviously couldn't translate every single thing word for word. I cackled because when he talked in English he pronounced Axel and Maxence's names very Englishy. I thought it was cute that Axel kept shouting for Maxence to come join them when they started, and that when Maxence came in he sat in front of him. I sat pretty close to the stage at that point and saw that Axel explained to Maxence that he yelled his name hahah. That whole panel was golden, loved hearing about their fave lines and upcoming projects, plus they were all so sweet to each other, ugh, name me a better cast istg. Some of the other highlights for me were how adorable Axel and Leo were together and how Moussa and Lais are integrated into the whole cast and got along with everyone. Seeing Lais and Maxence interact got me thinking about seeing Sofiane and Eliott together on screen and now I want it even more tbh. Of course everyone knows that Axel ignored the rules and insisted on talking to everyone who had a question, went off stage and talked to the people who were left, tried to include everyone, in general he had a really big role yesterday. I got an ask saying he is a true born entertainer and that's true, he really is (I will answer that ask later I promise, I am just way behind tbh sorryyy).

After the panel was the group photo with the skam france cast. The chaotic energy was off the chart. Especially Axel and Maxence, I saw Maxence bite some girls tag that was around her neck for the picture lmao. They kept cheering the people on who came for their picture, it was adorable. When it was my turn I stood between Axel and Maxence and ugh, just, it was great okay. I said thank you when I got my picture, and Maxence went: nooo, thank yOuUuU (you know the voice he sometimes uses? Yeah) what a sweetheart tbh.

After this there was a looooot of waiting for me. The only thing I had left was the autographs and selfies (this was one event) and that could not start before all the group photos were done, and they went on for way too long. That just means the organization sold too many or didn't calculate the right amount of time it would take. I managed to catch some of the skam og panel and italia, but not all of it, and tbh it's all a blurr because I was busy with processing everything haha.

Finally it was time for the autographs, and the line was looong. I had the pleasure of seeing Axel carry Lais to the tables up close and personal, what a legend. The times I fondly shook my head with a grin on my face yesterday because of that chaotic king are countless. Just before I was almost at the end of the line, they cut us off because they needed to start the closing ceremony (for lack of a better description). Luckily they wrote numbers on our hands so we didn't have to wait all the way back in line again, because after the ceremony they would get back to it. This wasn't in the schedule, it was suppose to be over, hence closing ceremony, so the skam france cast stayed behind way longer than planned. The closing ceremony was very emotional, most of the cast got tears in their eyes as people shared their stories. Not everything was translated but you could still tell it meant a lot to them. Not to mention the amount of money they managed to raise with the convention. Truly amazing. Of course we all saw the cast go absolutely nuts to one direction lmao, that was a treat to see after such a long day. Idk how they kept up their energy, especially Axel who seems to be inhuman tbh. He never seemed very tired, you could see it a bit in his face but he powered on and I love him for that. The rest of the cast was definitely more visibly tired, some more than others of course.  Finally we got back to the autographs, and still it was a long wait. I think we were there for nearly 2 hours and I only got to Marilyn, Lais, Axel and Maxence. By then it was 21:00 and I could barely stand. I only ate two mini croissants for breakfast and had a few handful of nuts during the day. I wasn't hungry but that still probably wasn't very smart of me. I kind of regret not staying to get the other autographs as well, but I was truly spend. Lais is as much a ray of sunshine as he is on TV, he is super nice and thankful, as is Marilyn. They were kind to everyone. That's something that I can say about the whole cast: everywhere I looked, I saw happy cast members who were touched by every single person who come up to them. Amazing really.

I'm not gonna lie, I was looking forward to getting to Axel the most. Anybody who follows me will not be surprised by this. So let me tell you a little bit about it. Axel gives the best hugs, is kind, is soft, calls you by your name, explains to you that he will read your letter later and carefully because he reads every one of them (I assured him that I am aware of that and very thankful) and that he wants to take his time with it to be able respond to it (which is not something I expect or even want, I just wanted to thank him and tell him how great he is, no response necessary). When I said it's been a long day he said no no no no, it's been a cool day, and I think he really means it. He was so full of energy after that long a day. He is so happy whenever he sees someone he remembers. And when I asked for a hug he said pffff of course!!! Did I mention he winked at me? Yeah. I really thought I could not love him more than I did but I do. I'm so grateful to have been able to meet him and talk to him and ugh ugh just, I can die happy now.

Maxence was really tired and stressed by the time I got to him and he took a smoke break just before. They warned us to keep it short because it was taking too long, so I did. I gave him the letter I wrote and he thanked me and we took some selfies. He was very nice but you could tell it was a lot for him, and that's very understandable.

After that we went back to the hotel and I literally could not even form proper sentences anymore. We didn't get any dinner, we just talked for a bit to let it all sink in and then we went to bed.

Tbh, it's still a bit like a dream when I think back on it. It's a good thing I have pictures because otherwise I wouldn't believe it myself. I love this cast and this show and the crew too of course, I am so happy I went and the next time I get the slightest change to see them again I will take it without a doubt. They are all amazing. 10/10 would recommend.

PS: if anybody has any questions don’t hesitate to ask, although I might not know the answer or remember haha.

[booksandtea]

So its been a hot minute since I posted my main YALC Wrap Up and Haul post which I made sure to only focus on the negatives and I mentioned within it how there would be a follow up.

It is finally time for said follow up and I hope I didn’t leave it too long. My anger and frustration may not be as strong as it was that weekend, but its still there and I’m definitely not the only one.

2017:

I first attended YALC last year and I had a pretty awesome and over whelming time. One of the best things was the Showmasters staff often took recommendations from us attendees on which authors would gather a large queue so they could be prepared in advanced to start virtual queueing for us. This made everyones day easier and attendees happier.

From what I can remember (like I said I was v overwhelmed that year and I can’t even tell you who I met now) the biggest complaints were about accessibility; too many run-for-the-ARC twitter announcements, too many “do something silly” for an ARC, and not enough seats.

I know for a fact that because of this Lucy-May, and possibly others, got in contact with Showmasters and publishers to get these issues sorted for this year. I believe everyone promised changes would be made.

Publishers:

The publishers definitely listened to our complaints. ARCs were a lot more accessible for attendees. There were set times for ARC drops so people knew in advance, raffles, lucky dips, giveaways, and lastly purchase a finished copy and get an ARC in return.

However, a few publishers ended up giving the ARC away before the set time.

On one hand I understand this, if you know the amount of copies you have available and you can see the queue is already double that it makes sense to limit people’s disappointment if they’re joining the back of a queue.

Understandably this left some of us disappointed when arriving 5-10 minutes before only to find out it had already been done. Most publishers handled this fine so this complaint isn’t to them.

But this did lead to people turning up earlier and earlier for the giveaways which y’know makes sense, but not gonna lie some pubs didn’t seem happy about this situation.

Other than this though I haven’t seen any other complaints in this area, off the top of my head at least.

I will happily say that all my interactions with publishers were lovely, but I have definitely heard the odd upset attendee here and there.

Goody bags:

Now we get to the major complaints and concerns though.

And these all come down to the Showmasters staff.

This is under four areas; seating, queuing, “goody” bag, and lack of information.

We’ll start with the straight forward issue of the goody bag. Last year we were given a tote bag that we could collect any time during the weekend and most of us got it signed too.

However, this year we weren’t allowed to collect it until Sunday. I was told it was due to items not being ready for it, but on when I did get it on Sunday all it had inside was the weekends schedule and two postcards… that was it?

So like, what didn’t they have?

Last year, when getting my tote bag signed I also got it signed by a few authors whose books I didn’t have but had some interest in and it was great to get to speak to them about their work regardless of the fact I didn’t have the books. So I missed out on these type of interactions this year due the lack of my “goody” bag.

Could I have gone with something else? Sure. I had 2 authors sign my bujo whilst I spoke to them but mostly I just felt awkward going out-of-the-way to say hi when I didn’t have something for them.

But now onto the more important things.

Seating:

Seating was seriously lacking last year and there was hardly any improvement this year. According to Fi @ Bookish Outsider when she raised this concern at the end of last year she was told that there had been adequate seating. This year she armed herself with photographic evidence of the area and lack of seats. She will have a post up to document her time there this year at some point. She has told me that in September she’ll have a post going live with her concerns too.

It’ll be interesting to read her post and see the response given this year. As I’m not a priority for needing seats I didn’t really seak them out but I didn’t seen any dotted around which would’ve been handy…

(Please note that last year I seriously hurt my knee from constantly sitting on the floor and standing up, this year I kept that in mind whenever doing this to avoid the pain again. Mostly it helped)

Queueing & Lack of Information:

Now we get onto queueing and lack of information. These two really go hand in hand.

First up I’ve seen a few people not know they could get the extra help wristbands until the day of, particularly those who were attending for the first time. This needs to be better advertised and highlighted. I don’t really have a way to make this so other than perhaps a prompt when purchasing tickets to see if the customer is in need of them? I know that next year for sure I’ll do my best to tweet about this before hand to remind people.

Not that it really mattered if you did have the extra help wrist band as plenty who did were refused the help. A few of the Showmasters staff told those with the wrist bands they would have to wait their turn as it was unfair on others, or to at least wait until their virtual queue ticket bracket was called. Both of which really counteract the importance of the extra help wrist band.

As I mentioned earlier last year the staff were happy to listen to our recommendations on who’s queues would have a big turn out but this year we were told “its not up to us” or “no we aren’t ticketing for this” even when the queues already filled the width of the event space. (Only to then ticket 20 minutes later because the queues were unbearable).

I’m not saying we shouldn’t have to queue, just that why can’t it always be efficient? If you have a system in place to help those with extra help bands and other attendees then why aren’t you utilising it?

Like there are multiple things to do at any given time so it would seem odd to spend the full day in a queue, no?

I ended up missing out on a signing due to this because my mental health was making me get very anxious about the stalls we were blocking and I was generally dizzy from the heat and standing still.

This isn’t the only area where queueing and lack of information failed, because, you know the workshops that are held too? Well I got told that you had to sign up for them at the start of the day but I was also told that it was first come first served in the queue for them…

I know people missed out on these because of this very contradictive information. I did manage to attend one that I signed up for near the start of the day but yes there were people in the queue waiting for it who didn’t know/were told they didn’t have to sign up.

It was frustrating and they just needed to be sure everyone had the same information and training. It’s this lack of communication that caused these issues.

Other posts

As I mentioned I’m not the first to have raised these issues so here are other bloggers who have addressed the issues at hand, possibly more eloquently than myself. Additionally this is a good indicator that this isn’t an “over reaction”, these are legitimate concerns.

Avery @ Red Rocket Panda | Beth @ iambookmad | Kirsty @ The Bibliophile Girl UK | Donna @ The Untitled Book Blog | Nicola @ Fantastic Book Dragon

If you enjoyed this post consider supporting Northern Plunder Ko-fi | Twitter | Book Club | RedBubble

Dear YALC | A discussion on accessability So its been a hot minute since I posted my main YALC Wrap Up and Haul post…

[desperatelyfullforever]

Disney World Omo (Angie’s Pov)

Hey, guys!

You might think it’s the original, but nope! It’s Angie for once, haha. I’m the one writing. First off, thank you guys so much for all the positive feedback! We didn’t expect everybody to be so amazing and to like the stories so quickly, and we really appreciate it.

Second, do you know how sucky it is to hear a story from her point of view when I’m the one desperate?

Now, as you guys know that typically I don’t get desperate. Well, ever since I found out that she’s into this, I get desperate at least twice a day, no kidding. My amazing girlfriend loves to ply me with numerous drinks and get me worked up and desperate. Don’t worry, there’s days we don’t do anything so my poor, overworked bladder gets a rest.

Also, I’m fucking dying for a piss right now but she won’t let me go until I post this because I nagged her to let me write something. Can’t be sloppy, but damn it’s hard to focus.

Let’s see if her writing skills she’s taught me have been put to good use, shall we?

For the new/lazy readers, here’s my info: I’m a tiny Hispanic girl with olive skin and wavy brown hair that goes barely past my shoulders. My body right now is a lot slimmer than it was, but at this point in time I was more on the average side of things, about 125 pounds while being 5 feet tall (I’ve grown about half an inch since then!) Here, I was wearing skintight jeans, a white tank top and sneakers. Here, in this story this is the first time I realized she was into this.

(I know it was said that the next post will be her choir story, but that’s for HER post, not mine. :P)

Now, before her, I never knew that this was an actual kink. I never heard of the name, noticed it, or anything. Yes, I noticed that when I got desperate she was slightly more invested in me, but I never put two and two together until this situation.

As most of you know, we were in band in high school. Now we’re college students, and this happened last May (roughly 6 months ago at the point of this writing). We had our trip for marching band in Disney World, and typically our schedules were hectic and busy; we’d get up at 6:30 or 7 in the morning and be out until at least 10 at night. Typically, the day would be this: wake up, have breakfast, travel to park for something involving the band, split up and do our own thing, meet up between 4-6, either stay in park or go to another park, meet up for another band thing, then meet up at apartments for room keys, curfew, sleep. For 5 days. Just, damn it was so busy, you’d barely get a moment to breathe it felt like.

Anyway, this was day 4 of our trip, the last day before we head to Universal Studios and then back home. The morning was a free-for-all; we could choose whatever park we wanted to go to until we met up for a light show in Epcot. She wanted to go to Animal Kingdom, and I wanted to go to Downtown Disney (Disney Springs?) for that building full of video games, so we compromised; Animal Kingdom for the first half, Downtown Disney for the second half.

First off, let me tell you that my 3 roommates didn’t bother to wake me up at first. We got up at 7 and were supposed to be at breakfast at 8, and I got up at 7:49 while they all were dressed and getting ready to head out. “What the fuck, guys? Couldn’t wake me up?” I shouted as I scrambled out of bed and threw on my black shorts, green t-shirt and sneakers.

They all shrugged. One answered, “We tried. You’re a stubborn ass that refuses to get out of a bed until you have to.”

I blushed, she was right. Unless I have to get up, I don’t. And that means waiting until the last possible moment (hint, hint). I brushed my teeth and hair and hurried after them, getting to the cafeteria by 7:59.

I see her sitting with our friends, already having breakfast. I grab my own breakfast, pancakes with fruit and orange juice, and sit with them. We all eat, and I stupidly take the rest of her drink, which is also juice. “Are you ready to go?” she asked, getting the trash together and throwing it out.

“Give me a sec.” I finish the juice and get up, grabbing the bag I brought with me while she grabs my hand and leads us to the buses in front of the resorts (we stayed in the Music Resort, duh). There was already a long line and half of our band was heading there, so we ran to it and claimed our spot.

We just so happened to be standing behind my parents, who tagged along to the trip. “Angelica, remember to drink a lot today,” my mom said. “It’s supposed to be really hot today.”

Oh, I didn’t think going to Orlando, Florida in the middle of May would be blistering hot. Nonetheless, she gave me two bottles of water and had me drink half of one before she was satisfied enough to go back to talking to my dad. My stomach felt a bit full from all the liquids, and it hit me that I never used the bathroom that morning. Usually in the morning I need to go pretty decently, and me plying myself of juice and water definitely didn’t help.

Apparently I subconsciously started squeezing her hand, because she noticed that I was getting tense. “You okay?” she asked.

I nodded. “Yes, I’m fine. I’m…just excited!”

Keep in mind I didn’t know of this being a kink. I didn’t know that she knew at that moment I needed to go. She only nodded and started conversation with me, mainly our plans today.

We stood there for roughly 20 minutes because of the long line and the bus only fitting so many people, so we had to wait for the second bus. When we got on the bus I immediately felt it hit me even more because of the AC-they keep it cold as fuck in there. I sat next to her and crossed my legs, ignoring my bladder’s urges for the time being. “Where are we going first?” I asked her.

“I want to go to that Everest coaster. The line gets long as fuck around noon, and it’s a little after 10 now.”

Fair enough. After we’re done discussing our plans I simply play around on my phone until we get there. Jeez, the lines to get IN are long. We take about 20 more minutes to get into the park before finally getting past everything. Before I can say or do anything she grabs my hand, leading me to the coaster.

Now, I’ve been to Disney multiple times and I can tell you the shortest ways to get from point A to B, but she wasn’t having it. We get to the ride, and the line is about a half hour. No problem, not nearly as long as it could’ve been. We get in line and wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Right before we get into the part of the line where it shows you relics involving the Yeti, there’s commotion about a little boy that needs to use the bathroom, but we all know that you can’t leave the line or else you’ll lose your spot. After a few minutes of back and forth with the mother, the little boy turns around, pulls his pants down and pees right there on the side of the queue for about a minute. I didn’t see it, but I could hear it and it reminded me of how badly I needed to go. I cross my legs and bounce a little.

She gave me a look but didn’t say anything.

The mom left the line with the boy, probably to beat his ass. Even with them gone I still heard the sound of him peeing, and it was torture. Two glasses of juice and half a water bottle was starting to catch up. I rubbed my stomach and whimpered, bending over a bit. We’d definitely make a trip to the bathroom after this ride, I promised myself.

Of course, my plans never happened.

Finally, we got close to the front of the line. I climbed in the seat next to her. We rode, got off and went into the gift shop. While looking around, I had a hand between my legs. “Hey, love?” I said as we prepared to leave. “Do you mind if we stop by-”

“Hey guys!” Fuck. It was our friends. I grin and bear it while talking to them, squeezing her hand as a form of distraction.

“Let’s say we head over to the water rapids?”

Water? My bladder ached at that. “Oh yeah, I forgot there’s a rapids here,” she said, sounding…happy? “Angie, do you wanna go?”

Not like I could refuse. It was 1 against 6. “Sure,” I shrugged. “But can we stop-”

“The line gets pretty long, so we’d have to hurry,” one said. Fuck.

Cue us rushing to get in line, since the ride is across the fucking park. By the time we stop running I’m out of breath, and thirsty. I used logic that we’ll be able to get to a bathroom after this ride and chugged the rest of the first bottle.

As we get closer to the front, I started hearing the sounds of rushing water, as well as seeing people get off while soaking wet and dripping. Now I’m holding my bag in front of me, trying to discreetly hold myself. My bladder felt like a rock at this point, and now I was gonna sit in a raft full of water while getting thrown around and splashed. Just the thought of that prompted a leak, causing me to gasp.

She heard me, of course. “Angie, what’s wrong?”

I ripped my hand away, forcing a grin. “Nothing, it’s just hot as fuck.”

Her lips quivered, as if trying to fight a grin. “Well, don’t you have water?”

…Fuck. I grab my water and take a healthy sip to satisfy her. She grabbed my hand again, which I took advantage of by squeezing. But now I couldn’t hold myself.

After a bit we got close to the ride, and I could really hear the water rushing. I couldn’t help but grab myself, thinking nobody’s looking. She glanced at me and I tore my hand away again, shaking it in the air (I don’t know if anybody else does that, but if I need to go and I can’t grab myself I shake them in the air) and clenching it into a fist. At this particular moment my bladder decided to throb, making me bend over a bit and squirm even more.

“Okay, what’s wrong with you? Why are you moving like this?”

Every fiber of my being wanted to run out of line and to the nearest bathroom, but pride was still an overwhelming factor. I wanted to prove to myself that I could wait long enough, that I could tell my bladder that I could hold it long enough. “I’m fine, I promise,” I said to her. In order to prove it I stood up straight, relaxing my body long enough to seem fine.

She stared at me for a long, long time. I could feel my resolve waning with each passing second, and I wanted nothing more but to put my hand between my legs again. Finally she turned around, talking to our friends. I sighed in relief and grabbed myself. Now, I started feeling some sort of heat building between my legs, but I was too desperate to acknowledge it.

Finally, after waiting a fucking lifetime we get on the ride. I tried to find the driest seat but couldn’t, sitting in a puddle of water. The liquid on my skin made me leak again and I could see myself losing it entirely. Somehow I pull it together for the ride, focusing on keeping dry (well, for the most part), and somehow I do. However, towards the end of the ride, I managed to go the majority of it without getting splashed. Of course with my stupid luck, I do. Right in my lap. The feeling of water so damn close to my body made me leak a lot, and I cross my legs while sneaking a grab as I inspect the damage. Thank fuck my shorts were black.

Finally we got off the ride and I couldn’t stand up straight. I was hunched over, unable to stand still at all while my hands shook in the air. We said goodbye to our friends as we planned on heading to Downtown Disney before we had to go back to the resort.

I said nothing, letting her lead me to the buses. We had to take a bus to another resort before heading to the springs. The entire time on the first bus I was quiet, focusing on not pissing myself. My bladder felt unbearably full, and I felt like I was gonna lose it at any moment now. I couldn’t grab myself because she was watching me intently, so I didn’t want to give anything away.

We got off the bus at the resort. We were the only ones there, and there was a fucking waterfall near us. I sat down on a bench while she stood, checking the times for buses. I take the time to grab myself and cross my legs, moaning. All I could think about was how full I felt and how badly I needed to go. I seriously doubted my ability to hold it until we got to the video game building; I had a shaky yet constant leak going by this point.

“You need to pee, don’t you?” That startled the fuck out of me and made me leak even more. I whined and managed to cut it off, looking up at her. Now I couldn’t hide it even if I wanted to, she caught me. I nod and moan again, curling into a ball.

She bit her lip and took a seat next to me, looking around. Nobody was there. “Let me help,” she offered.

At this point I wanted to just let go, damn what happened. But she was so willing, I just let her. She started kissing me and immediately put her hand between my legs, nudging mine to the side. Her arm wrapped around my body to pull me closer, and I felt one leg slip in between mine.

After a bit of feeling around I felt her other hand feel my bladder before pressing down, hard. I groaned while trying to throw my hand down again, but she swatted it away. I tried to close my legs but hers wouldn’t let me, so I was reduced to shaking my hands again while grinding against her hand. The other one strayed over my bladder as I squirmed. She watched the entire time, breathing heavily.

Weird. Why was she so turned on all of a sudden?

Wait. Wait a fucking moment…she was watching me all day, meaning she might’ve known that I had to go since the damn resort hours ago. She made me drink water a few times, and now she was so turned on I couldn’t believe it. Then there was the time at my house when she made me drink again and had me sit in her lap, and didn’t get disgusted when I wet myself and her. And then there was that competition…

After the wave died down a bit I gave her a look. “You’re…you’re turned on by seeing me need to pee, aren’t you?” I asked.

She looked like a deer caught in headlights, blushing. She looked away, nodding.

I laughed. I couldn’t believe it. “What’s so funny?” she asked, frowning.

“You could’ve just asked me to hold it for you,” I purred, teasing her despite my own situation. “We could’ve planned this out instead of me almost wetting myself multiple times today.”

And now she looked surprised. “Really? You…you don’t mind?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but another wave hit my bladder as a huge spurt leaked out. I squirmed and took advantage of her surprise, pushing her hand away and grabbing myself with my own. “Discuss later, I’m gonna lose it,” I told her. It was no use, there was no way in hell I could hold it.

She looked around again. “Stand up.” I did, feeling even more desperate as my bladder shifted. She pulled my already soaked shorts down and pushed me onto the bench. “Go.”

Despite me really, really needing to go I couldn’t. My nerves were sky-high, and I was worried that I’d get caught. She took notice and put her hand in between my legs again, rubbing my clit while kissing a sensitive spot on my neck. A steady leak came out, but nothing more. Her other hand reached around and, out of fucking nowhere, put all of its weight on my bladder.

That broke the dam. Pee gushed out of me at a surprising rate, splattering on the ground in front of us. I moan loudly, using a hand to cover my mouth. She was still rubbing my clit, and I quickly feel an orgasm building. “Fuck, I’m gonna cum if you don’t stop,” I warned her.

“As you wish.” She took her thumb and jammed it against my clit, causing me to unravel. I came, still pissing hard. I swore I saw stars behind my eyes, unable to be quiet at all. My orgasm stopped before I was done peeing, and she merely stared in awe.

After about two minutes it finally died down. The puddle was dribbling towards the street, and we sat about 7 feet from the curb. She shuffled around a bit, clearly turned on by everything. I could only pant, feeling heavily relieved. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you later,” I promised.

A devilish grin appeared on her face as I said that. “Well, you did drink a lot, didn’t you?”

(And that’s that. Alright, my bladder is about to explode. I was gonna finish and add the second half of the story to this, but I’m honestly about to piss myself. Maybe I’ll post it later…Bye!)

[stydiapositivityproject]

THIS IS THE STYDIA POSITIVITY PROJECT 2017!  Are you fuming about the lack of Stydia in 6b? Are you confused because it seems Stiles Stilinski is still with the Wild Hunt as he has barely been mentioned? Are you still trying to wrap your head around the fact that Lydia Martin was shot and Stiles Stilinski was not mentioned once? Are you just all around all types of fed up and need some positivity from other Stydia shippers in your life? Then, look no further! The Stydia Positivity Project is just what you have been looking for!

WHAT IS IT EXACTLY? The Stydia Positivity Project is simply that, Stydia shippers spreading positivity to one another by giving them a positivity partner that they will send anonymous asks to throughout the week. The project will culminate in giving your positivity partner a gift of some kind (gifset, fic, graphic, playlist, etc). Doesn’t getting an anonymous message from someone who loves Stydia just as much as you and screaming about how great they are and how much you’ve loved them sound INCREDIBLE right about now???

HOW DOES IT WORK? Complete the survey below (see: I’M SOLD- HOW DO I SIGN UP?)! by 6PM EST on Friday, September 15.  We will assing you your positivity partner on Saturday, September 16. The positivity project will run from Sunday, September 17th to Sunday, September 24th - the day of the Teen Wolf series finale. You will send your positivity partner anons about Stydia from Sunday the 17th to Saturday the 23rd, and on Sunday the 24th you will reveal yourself to them and present them with your gift!

WHAT DO I SAY TO MY POSITIVITY PARTNER? Anything your heart desires, really. Scream about why you love them. Talk about your favorite headcanons. Share how you fell into the Stydia fam. We know this can be hard, so we have provided some talking points! These are just to get you talking, they are in NO way strict guidelines that you have to adhere to. And remember, you will be giving anons but you will also be getting anons so you will have multiple people to scream about your favorite banshee queen and sarcastic king with! Here are some daily talking points you can follow but again, you do not have to strictly adhere to these!

Sunday, September 17: Share how you fell in love with this great ship

Monday, September 18: Talk favorite Stydia moments (banters, that eye contact, etc)

Tuesday, September 19: Share why do you absolutely love these two together

Wednesday, September 20: Share your favorite headcanons

Thursday, September 21: Talk about your favorite Stydia parallels!

Friday, September 22: Reminisce on the times you literally screamed at the tv over these two and their slow burn...(WHO IS GONNA TELL EM THEY’RE MARRIED)

Saturday, September 23: Talk about where you see Stydia in the future

I’M SOLD- HOW DO I SIGN UP?

Reblog this post so others can see and join in on the positivity

Complete this survey by 6PM EST on Friday, September 15

Be on the lookout for your positivity partner to be assigned to you sometime on Saturday, September 16

Start sending your positivity partner happy anons screaming about how much you love Stydia! If you sign up for this, please know that you are expected to send at least one anon a day to this person. (runs from Sunday, September 17 - Saturday, September 23)

Enjoy the anons you get from your positivity partner screaming about Stydia!! (Also from September 17-23)

Prepare a post for your partner to gift to them any time on the day of the premiere aka Sunday, September 24 (This is different than usual events like this- you are not submitting to us, but instead simply posting and tagging your partner in it any time on that day! No deadlines besides that - you can make it early and have it in your drafts/queue, or make something as you get to know your partner throughout the week!)

[PLEASE READ] This is a weeklong commitment that requires you to send an anon daily for a week, so please think about your schedule before signing up. We want to make sure everyone gets a happy anon at least once a day for the entire week! If you have extra positivity to go around, please let us know on the survey as we may need people to help out and spread love to multiple blogs if their positivity partner doesn’t send them something every day!

Please be sure to tag your gifts with #stydiapositivityproject in the first 5 tags so we can see it and reblog it to this page! Also, feel free to tag any of your conversations with your anonymous positivity partner with the tag too! If you do, we will be sure to see them and can reblog them here to spread the love!

HAPPY STYDIA POSITIVITY PROJECT! LOTS OF LOVE, MARIA ( @lydiamartins) & FARAH ( @slowburnotptrash)

[chrishoulihan]

FYF ADVENTCHEA

So this shit turned into a fucking novel, I’m putting it under a cut and it’s just as much for my own recollection as it is for anyone who wants to hear about my festival weekend. Get into it

So I arrived in LA on Thursday morning after my flight was delayed by an hour and ended up getting there at the exact same time as Anna A @yourveryeyes which was fortuitous! We took a Lyft to Exposition Park to pick up her wristband for the festival, wandered around a little bit, and ended up taking the Metro downtown to meet up with Kylie @electric-candyman who was GREAT TO MEET and was also going to the festival, and her friend Chris who doesn’t have a Tumblr afaik and was going to both FYF and the Planetarium show that night. We went to MOCA which was pretty sweet, they had a Rothko room and a few Rauschenberg pieces that were really cool to see in person. After that Anna and I split off to go to Hollywood and check out Amoeba on our way to Sufjan and that was obviously amazing, I didn’t have enough space in the bags I packed to buy any records (which was by design, my broke ass can’t afford to drop a lot of money on vacation and you can’t waste money on stuff if you don’t have room to carry it home *tapping head guy meme*) but I bought a little heart-eyed cat emoji pin as a souvenir and I definitely wanted to buy 5000 things I couldn’t have.

From there we went to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery for Planetarium and met up with Anna L @louisdebumhole ANN- SQUAD REUNITED HELL YEAH. We got to the cemetery and went in all together like over an hour after the doors opened but since it was a lawn show there was still barely anyone lined up at the stage by the time we got there and we got just behind the rail?? AMAZING. I haven’t had the opportunity for rail at a Sufjan show since the Christmas pageant in 2012. Chris showed up not too long after us and joined us right by the stage and Anna L’s friend was there on the rail too so it was a party.

OBVIOUSLY PLANETARIUM WAS INCREDIBLE. My dumb ass forgot to save my Instagram story so I don’t have any of my own videos but it was so great. Sufjan wore his stupid beautiful clashing pajama suit and some fuckin moon boots and he looked fabulous and sang like an angel and said a lot of nonsensical inspirational stuff (like this which is the only video I managed to salvage.) The whole record sounds even richer and fuller live; Jupiter, Moon, and Venus sounded especially amazing. AND fun fact, Matt Berninger was there and watched the entire show from the left side of the stage! My indie dad Matty B supporting his homies!! I also got a setlist after the show ended, which was exciting even though of course it’s literally just a list of planets and in the exact same order as the record lmao. But it’s my first Sufjan-related setlist and I will cherish it forever.

So we got back to Anna L’s house I think around midnight that night and by then I had been awake for like 21 hours so I was exhausted and basically passed out as soon as I could. Next day was the START OF FYF and Anna A/Kylie/Chris and I decided that we wanted to go for Bjork rail, since she was the first act on the main stage on Friday and there weren’t really any other bands playing before her elsewhere that we were dying to see. Before we went to the festival Anna A and I hung out with her friend Jen who was great, we got boba and then went downtown to The Last Bookstore, which was bomb, and had lunch at Grand Central Market. Got to the festival about half an hour before the gates opened, made it through the long ass queue, and went immediately to the main stage where we got basically center-right just behind the rail!! For fucking Bjork!!! Commence freaking out for the next three hours. Chris and Kylie showed up later right behind us and it was such a fun and easy queueing experience for me, everyone around us was super chill and everyone was so hype to see Bjork that we pretty much just looked out for each other and bonded over our mutual fandom. Anna and I had intended to see Bjork together in NYC back in 2015 but it got cancelled so this was a LONG TIME COMING and I’m so glad that we were able to make it happen.

So Bjork was the first set of my whole festival weekend and honestly it was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen?? SHE WAS AMAZING and I knew I was gonna be emotional but I wasn’t fucking prepared for how surreal and incredible it felt to hear THAT VOICE in person and to be that close to her while it happened. Unreal. She had Arca with her as her DJ and a whole string ensemble, and she came out wearing a glow in the dark lime green headdress mask thing and a huge puffy dress that made her look like a beautiful pinata. Everything about it was fucking perfect; she did at least one song from every record except Vespertine. Multiples from Vulnicura/Homogenic/Post, Come to Me, Mouth’s Cradle, Wanderlust, Mutual Core. Fucking awesome. Favorites for me were probably Joga (CRIED), Mouth’s Cradle (fuckin bomb arrangement and a huge surprise), Isobel & Bachelorette (two of my all time faves), Notget and Hyperballad which had LITERAL FIREWORKS AND FIREBALLS going off onstage behind her?? What the fuck?? Amazing. And it was the most fun and loving group of people on the rail I’ve ever been part of; everyone around me was so genuinely excited and emotional and singing along and I could FEEL THE LOVE.

So that was an amazing start to the festival obviously and after Bjork we met up with Anna L and went straight to go see Anderson Paak who I missed BOTH TIMES he was here in Portland last year because I’m an idiot, and WOW he is so great live!! I’m actively offended that he is not my boyfriend tbh, he has the most beautiful and infectious smile I’ve ever seen on a human being. Big ol dance party up in the lawn stage. After that we went back to the main stage to watch Missy Elliott for a while and that was a lot of fun; found out after the fact that Bjork and fucking BEYONCE were watching off stage, so like, now I can say I have been in the presence of Beyonce. Went to Flying Lotus early which was the last set of the night to get a good view, with our sweet Flylo-branded 3D glasses obv. Flylo was amazing as always and the 3D show was awesome, I hope he takes it on the road cause that shit was fire. I’m also really into the mystical shaman look he seems to be cultivating lately lmao, and he looks cute as hell with the longer hair!! One of the biggest highlights of the whole weekend for me was when he started the Captain Murphy stuff, got one verse through The Killing Joke, and then was like “you know what fuck this I changed my mind, I want to do this song cause I never get the chance to do it” and fucking busted out with COSPLAY, which is only my favorite Captain Murphy track ever!!! I wasn’t expecting it cause it’s pretty obscure even for the Captain Murphy stuff and I lost my goddamn mind it was so much fun. (Gotta say though that the longer he keeps riding out Murphy tracks from 2012 at his live shows, the more egregious it is that he still hasn’t fuckin dropped a Murphy album or any substantial Murphy release since then. Come on bro. I’ve been waiting 5 years) ANYWAY so that was great of course. Day One = big success.

Day Two! Before we went to the festival that day we met up and had lunch with Anna L’s bf Jesus, who had a Saturday/Sunday festival pass and is a lovely man with great taste in music and cat photos and baseball caps. First set of the day for me was Thundercat and it was my SIXTH time seeing him live, which is hilarious (gonna be 7 times in September.) One of the first things he said to the crowd after getting on stage was “you guys look like you smell weird,” which was accurate. Obviously he’s always great live and I loved getting to hear more of the Drunk songs since the last time I saw him. He’s also rocking some pretty sweet neon pink dreads right now. Caught the end of Noname’s set with Anna A and Chris afterwards and really enjoyed it! I want to check out her album now cause she was great. Grabbed some food and then the whole crew met up together again to see Perfume Genius – GORGEOUS. I’d never seen him live before and he’s so captivating to watch. His performance of Slip Away to close the set was one of my favorites of the whole weekend.

After that I ended up splitting up with everyone, watched some of Arca’s set but ended up leaving to go hang out on the lawn before Erykah Badu because my feet were killing me and I really needed to sit down and recharge. Erykah was supposed to go on at 9:50; cut to 10:15 and she still hasn’t gone on and I was already planning on cutting out of her set at 10:30 to try and snag a semi decent spot for Frank Ocean, so I said fuck it and bailed to go do that. BUMMED I DIDN’T GET TO SEE HER TBH I was really looking forward to it. But it’s kinda good that I left sooner rather than later because the main stage was already pretty packed by 10:30 for Frank. I got an okay spot to the right of the stage probably about 10+ rows back from his platform catwalk thing, and it was easily the most crowded audience I was in all weekend. Talk about being packed like sardines it was madness, if I had showed up like 10 minutes later than I did I would have had an absolutely shit view.

So like…..FRANK FUCKING OCEAN. Never ever thought the day would come that I’d see him live, and the whole experience was so incredibly special to me. I DEFINITELY cried buckets when he sang Lens, which has weirdly become one of my all time favorite tracks in the last few months, and Ivy really really got to me out of nowhere too. Literally everyone around me within earshot sang along to every single word of every song and it was amazing. He played an unreleased cover of some old school funk track that was absolute straight fucking fire, me and the girl next to me danced our asses off together. That shit better get an official release on his radio show like he said he was planning!! Also Brad Pitt was on stage at one point and that was HILARIOUS tbh I wish I had gotten any sort of video of that myself, but the way the wasted dude behind me shouted “WHAT THE FUUUCK” when he popped up on screen will remain fresh in my memory forever. The whole show was gorgeous and I just LOVE FRANK OCEAN!!! I want him to tour so bad so I can actually plan out a scenario where I can get rail for his show and have a better view.

Aaaand Day Three. Got to the festival kinda lateish because the first act the Ann- Squad wanted to see wasn’t till after 6 (Little Dragon), so once we got there we took some photos and wandered around a bit, met back up with Chris and Kylie and took these majestic photobooth pictures, and then Anna A and I went to Little Dragon early for a good spot. I had never seen them before and it was a blast, just a total dance party. They mostly played stuff from Season High which was fine by me cause that album fuckin bangs. Then mood whiplash when we went straight from Little Dragon to Moses Sumney lmao. We got to Moses’ set right when he started our mutual fave Lonely World, serendipitous tbh!! He is beautiful and I loooove the lighting setup he’s got going for his show, it felt really unique to me among the loud dancey festival fare.

After that we went back to the main stage for Solange, which was great; I’m not as familiar with her music as I could be tbh but I really enjoyed how conceptual and dance-oriented her show was. At one point a whole massive brass section streamed in out of nowhere just for one song and it was fuckin awesome. Towards the end of Solange’s set Kylie texted me to say that if we hurried there was still a little bit of rail space left for Run the Jewels in fifteen minutes, to which we were immediately like UHH YES WTF and hustled our way the fuck over – made it in time, got just behind the rail for motherfucking Run the Jewels right before they went on somehow, *Killer Mike voice* goddammit it’s a motherfucking miracle. Give Kylie 5000 gold medals tbh. And RTJ ended up being probably my favorite non-headlining set of the weekend, SO MUCH FUN. The crowd was fucking nuts, everyone around me was going stupidly hard, and I discovered that I know pretty much every word of RTJ3 lmao. The only thing that could have made it more perfect would have been if they’d done Panther Like A Panther, WHICH THEY DIDN’T and was greatly missed by me. But it was amazing. I’m kind of in love with El-P’s ridiculous ass tbh.

Last show of the weekend – Nine Inch Nails!! Who I love!!!!! And hadn’t seen live in almost four years!!!!!! I’m always fucking trash for Nine Inch Nails honestly, their live shows just turn me into a raging dancing idiot and this was no exception. ‘Wish’ will always be one of my favorite songs to hear live from any band ever. Also got to hear Something I Can Never Have and Reptile for the first time ever for me which was awesome!! Bold move of Trent to throw in Something I Can Never Have as the fourth song in a festival set but I was loving it. Like I said yesterday I randomly lost my fucking mind to The Hand That Feeds lmao, I was actually jumping around like a moron. The newer songs were great too, Field On Fire FUCKING BANGS live holy shit. Basically it was just so great to cap off the weekend with band that I’ve loved for ten years and are always fucking immaculate live. And then when it was all over I got chicken strips and fries and walked out of the festival with the fam eating my delicious food. Perfection.

So that was my weekend and I honestly could not have dreamed of having a better time. I’m so so glad that I was able to do this, see some of my favorite bands with an awesome group of people who love music just as much as I do, get out of town and clear my head, and find some healing at a time when I really needed it. I feel very lucky.