#one of the theatres got out slightly late and set us back for like 45 minutes because everything was gettinf out one on top of the other

[aberooski]

I'm seriously hanging on by a thread right now I might just go drop dead 😭

[bigfan-fanfic]

OC Details - DA OC Canon Posse + MGITs

From @3n-vee‘s “Extremely Detailed OC Ask Meme”

For Tash Adaar, Owain Bonneville, Henry Lucas, Cal and Ava Hawke, Morgan Walker, Aster Amell, Katie Cousland, and Reyn Caron

I started with Tash, then decided to only do the fun ones and add more characters. *shrugs*

The Basics

1. Age, Birthday, Star Sign (Tash only)

12-13 at the beginning of Inquisition, 15 at the end of Trespasser. Born 18 Guardian, 9:28 Dragon. Sign: Fervenial

3. Orientation and Relationship Status

Tash is a child, but when he is older, he will find he is gay. I kind of ship him with Kieran so that everyone is one big happy familly (Aster is cousins with the Hawkes, Cal adopted Tash, who eventually marries Kieran, son of Morrigan and Morgan.)

Owain is also a gay man who I have not yet settled on a canon relationship for. but whom I ship quite hard with @herald-divine-hell‘s OC Amayian Trevelyan

Henry is a panromantic asexual man whose relationship status I have not decided yet. Perhaps Cole.

Cal is a bisexual man married to Varric. 

Ava is a straight woman married to Sebastian but also in a polyamorous relationship with Fenris. 

Morgan is a biromantic and demisexual man in a committed relationship with Morrigan. Although I also ship him with @herald-divine-hell‘s OC Alexandra.

Aster is a homoromantic graysexual man married to Alistair. 

Katie is a bisexual woman and single. 

Reyn is a demiromantic bisexual man who I might decide to put in a relationship. 

6. Headcanon VA  (Tash only)

Unknown - although Tash does have a Marcher accent, slightly less thick than Blackwall’s. 

7. Occupation (Tash only)

Former Lord Inquisitor, Lord of Ylenn Basin, and Heir to the Viscount of Kirkwall - also Knight-Enchanter?

12. Own any pets?

Tash has a pet fennec fox named Harold. 

Ava and Cal have a mabari pet named Socks. 

Aster has a mabari hound that originally belonged to the late Elissa Cousland that he named Barksy, although to anyone besides Alistair or Aster, he must be referred to as Ser Barksy or Lord Barksy.

13. Have any kids?

Morgan, of course, has Kieran with Morrigan. He wouldn’t mind more if she was up for it. 

Cal has officially adopted Tash with Varric as of Trespasser. 

Ava and Sebastian are trying for an heir to the throne, although she may already be pregnant by Fenris. None of the others have children.

Owain, Aster, and Katie will want children eventually. It’s more complicated for Alistair and Aster since the Ferelden throne passes by blood. Aster wouldn’t mind taking care of Alistair’s child by a surrogate should circumstances prevent adoption.

Reyn doesn’t think children will happen for him, as a Warden, but should a child be born, he will love and care for them above all else.

Henry is undecided on children. As is Tash.

15. Can they sing? Can they dance?

Tash loves to dance and sing. He’s an average singer, but was trained well in court dancing, and enjoys making appearances at balls and events. 

Aster is more clumsy than a drunken druffalo, and is terrible at dancing, but he’s a surprisingly good singer, who would sing many duets with Leliana back during Origins. 

Cal and Ava only sing when drunk, although Ava learns to dance well. 

Owain both dances and sings like a trained bard. 

Reyn and Katie never sing, but both are passable dancers. 

Morgan likes singing to Morrigan and Kieran, and dancing with his wife (and occasionally with Zevran or Leliana), but isn’t comfortable with very many others. 

Henry can’t dance very well, and can only really sing in a crowd, but does both on his own anyway.

18. Have any special keepsakes?

Tash keeps a pair of specialized horn cushions Josephine had commissioned for him at Skyhold and finds them wonderful to sleep in. He also adores the handcrafted chess set he whittled with Blackwall. 

Owain will keep anything given to him or made for him by his lover, wearing it if possible or at least keeping it nearby. 

Henry has his phone, with all the memories it brings. It has long since lost its charge, but he keeps it close anyway as a reminder. 

Morgan has the ring given to him by Morrigan, as well as a smooth river stone that Kieran inscribed with the same rune Morgan has tattooed on his bicep. 

Aster still has the rose Alistair gave him, enchanted to never lose it’s beauty. It reminds him of his husband’s sweet nature. He also has a small figurine of a Circle mage that an older apprentice in Kinloch (Anders) made for him when he was very sad one day.

Katie has her charm bracelet from before she came to Thedas which acts like a talisman for her to know that she really did come from another world. 

Reyn has a scarf made for him by a stable boy he loved before leaving his family estate for the Academie des Chevaliers and a Dalish wedding ring given to him by an elven bride who he spared before going into exile and joining the Wardens.

Interests

19. Hobbies (Tash only)

Singing, dancing, writing, doing paperwork, chess, listening, dog care, designing fashion and furniture for the Inquisition, collecting Orlesian masks, and attending Orlesian theatre.

21. Fave food(s) and drink(s)

For some reason, Tash loves the notoriously awful-tasting Orlesian pastry known as the “Exquisite Misery.” It serves as an inadvertent power move in Orlesian circles, but his absolute favorite food is fresh-baked bread (reminds him of his home). Tash also enjoys hot cocoa ever since the Iron Bull shared some of his supply.

As a rule, Aster likes sharing Orlesian charcuterie with Alistair as a picnic in their chambers or the courtyard when they can get away from affairs of state. He’s also partial to fruit juices.

Morgan, Henry, and Katie all wish pizza was a thing in Thedas. There is a dish similar to it in Antiva, but nothing quite resembling it. Katie has gotten the closest to having actual pizza, being a noblewoman with cooks she can instruct. Morgan has inadvertently addicted Morrigan to coffee when he found out how to make it using magic. Henry likes water, but it’s hard to find a stable source of clean drinking water in Thedas. Katie adores tea.

The Wardens don’t often have fine food, and Reyn misses petit fours. He enjoys his personal Warden liquor mixture - Commander’s Concoction.

For Fun

37. Do they have any phobias?

Tash is a timid person in general, and is afraid of miscellaneous things from spiders to dolls with buttons for eyes. But no real debilitating phobias. 

Cal, Ava, Aster, and Henry all fear spiders.

Owain hates heights.

Nugs freak Katie out.

Morgan and Reyn feel fear, but have no phobias.

43. What pokemon would your character be (if they’re already a pokemon/gijinka tell us what they are, and how that’s affected them)?

Tash Owain Henry Cal Ava Aster Morgan Katie Reyn

44. What’s their pokemon team? Try to pick all 6.

Tash Owain Henry Cal Ava Aster Morgan Katie Reyn

45. Theme song (and a playlist if you’ve got it!)

Tash: “Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift or “It’s a Good Day” by Kay Starr

Owain: “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence + The Machine and for romance: “All You Need Is Love” by the Beatles

Henry: “No Rain” by Blind Melon or “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding

Cal: “Dream On” by Aerosmith and for romance: “I Can’t Help Myself” by the Four Tops

Ava: “Royals” by Lorde and for romance: “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” by Taylor Swift

Aster: “Can You Tell Me How To Get to Sesame Street?” (2000) and for romance: “Love on Top” by Beyonce

Morgan: “People Are Strange” by The Doors and for romance: “Beauty and the Beast” by Angela Lansbury

Katie: “I Love It” by Icona Pop feat. Charlie XCX

Reyn: “The Wanderer” by Dion

46. If this character was in a musical, what would their motif be (what kind of instruments do you hear, what’s the tempo, ect).

Tash: Simple peppy flute that gradually becomes joined by other instruments to form a full-sounding orchestra with complex melodies. 

Owain: Slow, sad piano that is joined by violin and becomes strong and anthemic. 

Henry: Plucked cello strings. Inquisitive.

Cal: Brass section, room for improvisation. Bright and joyful.

Ava: Oboe and Bassoon, deep and reflective. 

Aster: Fiddles and flute, playing simple fast-paced dance music.

Morgan: Orchestration accompanied by electric guitar - shouldn’t work together but it does here.

Katie: Sharp woodwinds and guitar. Very formal, almost like wedding dance music.

Reyn: Acoustic guitar trio. Perhaps Spanish guitar. Contemplative and sexy.

The Deep Lore™

49. What are some themes tied to your character’s story?

Tash, Aster, Henry, Katie- Loss of Innocence

Owain, Ava - Self-Acceptance

Cal, Reyn - Mutual Pining/Unrequited Love 

Morgan - Found Family, Parenthood

[rogeryoubastard]

Too Much Love Will Kill You - Part II

A/N: This is kind of a filler chapter, shorter than I would like but I’m still mainly happy with it. I hope you like it, feedback is greatly appreciated.

Series summary: Being Brian May’s best friend was easy, it was safe. Falling for Roger Tayler’s charm was also easy. No one told you how hard it was to choose between the two.

Paring: Roger Taylor x Reader (kind of), Brian May x Reader (platonic... for now)

Warnings: None that I can think of really. A lil’ angst I suppose but not really.

You shot up from the couch to follow your curly-haired friend. He had stormed off, and you were lost for an explanation. Throwing open the door you dashed down the hall in attempts of catching up to him. Up ahead you saw a door closing, it seemed to lead outside.

That was where you found him, leaned up against the back of the building. He clenched his jaw and let out a sigh. He looked just about ready to punch someone. It was a side of Brian you had rarely seen.

You thought back to sophomore year. Jake, a cute boy, had asked you out on date. He was attractive, and nice enough- so of course you said yes. You had been rambling on about it him and the date the entire day. As soon as school ended you rushed home, with Brian of course, to get ready. You wanted to look perfect. You knew it was silly, it was just a date and you were just teenagers- but you were excited nevertheless. Brian helped you pick out an outfit, though he told you that anything you wore would be fine.

Jake had told you to meet him at the diner for a bite to eat before you headed to the movies. Brian insisted on walking you there, using the excuse that it was on his way home. You knew of course that it wasn’t, but you welcomed his company. You arrived before Jake, at 5, and Brian asked if you wanted him to wait with you. You assure him that it was unnecessary and let him go on his way home. 5:15 and Jake still hadn’t shown up. You peaked around, but you were sure he wasn’t here. 5:30, there was still no sign of Jake. Your stomach gurgled, for a second you doubted him even showing up but you were too proud, or stupid, to admit it so you chalked it up to him running late and continued to wait outside. By 5:45 you were in danger of missing the movie. Perhaps Jake had forgotten about the diner and decided you meet you at the theatre instead? Whatever your thoughts were, they led you to the theatre. At 6 O’Clock the movie had started and Jake still hadn’t shown up. You knew it now, he wasn’t going to show up ever.

God you were stupid. You looked down at yourself, your cute clothing seeming dumber than ever. Tears pricked at your eyes, you couldn’t believe you had gotten your hopes up for a douche like Jake. You wanted to scream, you wanted to curl up and cry. So you ran.

You ran all the way to Brian’s place.

He opened the door to see you- masara tracks down your cheeks, puffy eyes and your once excited smile was gone. He hated to see you like this, the joy sucked out of you.

“Y/N, what happened?” His face was one of concern, in the dearest way that a best friend has. You relayed to him the painfully uneventful night. He took another look at your sad state and his usual cool persona went up in smoke. He looked like he could beat the living crap out of someone.

You chuckled at the memory, Brian had always been a protective friend. But nothing had happened to you this time, and you couldn’t think of any reason for his sudden harshness.

“Brian.” Your voice was soft and you gently reached out to touch his shoulder. He stiffened at the contact but didn’t shy away. “Brian?”

“What do you want Y/N?” He asked, agitated.

“What do I want? I want to know what’s up with you.” You asked, concerned.

“It’s nothing.” He said, avoiding eye contact.

“It sure doesn’t seem like nothing. Just tell me.” You pried.

“I told you Y/N, it’s nothing just leave it.”

“Well it didn’t seem like nothing when you stormed off out of the recording studio.”

“Well, it’s nothing.” He said through his teeth. Obviously he wasn’t going to admit anything, and though you were still curious, you dropped it.

“Okay then, well why don’t you come back with me.” You locked arms with him, a comforting thing you often did.

Brian, although he didn’t respond, gave no objections so you began to lead him to the door.

Attempting to make conversation you brought up the plans that Roger had mentioned earlier, “I heard you and the boys were going to the bar after this. Is that right?”

“Uh… yeah I guess.” His mind seemed elsewhere.

“Well I hope you don’t mind me tagging along, Roger invited me.” You noticed his jaw clench but he continued walking.

“Of course.” He muttered.

“Huh?” You had heard him, but his comment left you perplexed.

“Oh, uh... of course I won’t mind you’re my best friend.”

“Hmm.” Thankfully your awkward small talk came to an end as you arrived at the studio. From outside you could hear their faint voices in conversation. The door pushed open and you found the boys lounged about, waiting.

“There you are Brian. We’re just wrapping up now.”

Brian grunted in acknowledgement, slunk out of your touch and went to gather his stuff. Returning to your spot at the couch you sunk down in the bright cushions. Roger, who apparently had finished cleaning up, sat next to you. For a few moments you two sat in silence.

But of course Roger, who was never one for a quiet moment, decided to ask you something.

“What was up with Brian, he seemed pretty pissed.”

“I don’t know, he wouldn’t tell me.” You responded, still watching Brian.

“Hmm. Interesting.” Roger hummed.

“Very. He usually tells me everything.” You admitted.

“Hmm.” For a brief moment you both sat in silence. “If you guys are so close, why hasn’t he brought you around sooner?” He seemed genuinely curious. “I certainly wouldn’t have objected to knowing you.”

“I don’t really know. I’ve been dying to meet the band though.” You smiled at him.

“Are we everything you expected?”

“Oh yes! You’re all fantastic!” Your enthusiasm was funny to Roger- in all honesty it was quite adorable.

Your exclamation must have drawn the attention of Brian as he looked over. “Roger stop flirting and help out.” His voice was cold and measured. You assumed his statement was based off of Roger’s notorious reputation and not on the nature of your conversation. Begrudgingly, Roger got up from the couch and headed towards his drum set.

“Brian do you need any help?” You offered. It felt odd watching everyone else work while you just sat there. Though you suppose that’s what you’ve been doing the whole day.

“Not from you.” You couldn’t tell if the statement was warm or cold, somehow you felt both sentiments.

“Uh- Okay…” Brian walked away and you continued to feel out of place, “Roger, do you need any help?”

Looking up from his drum set, his bored expression changed to a bright smile “Sure!” His face seemed to light up, happy that you had seeked him out.

Walking over to the drumset you too wore a smile. “What should I do?” You asked.

“I mean just keeping me company is good enough.” He smiled at you. The idea of him wanting your company made your cheeks flush slightly.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, you can sit here if you want.” He gestured towards the drum stool. You sat down, running your eyes over the view of the room- the view that Roger sees everyday. You admired the drums that sat in front of you. “So this is how you see this place.” You said, softly, partially to yourself. You realized you’d zoned out, so you turned your head back to Roger, who you’d found to be watching you- a wide smile on his face.

Rogers POV

She sat on my drum stool, looking over the room. Her eyes wandered around my drumset. Seeing her perched on the seat, my seat, felt right. She seems to appreciate the view. Her bright energy was infectious, I wanted her around all the time.

Normal POV

“Roger why are you smiling at me like that?”

His smile dropped and he looked down, his cheeks flushing lightly. Was he embarrassed? He quickly regained himself.

“Because you’re beautiful.” His vulnerable smile, which you had caught for just a moment, was replaced by a smirk. His voice was confident and smooth. Could easily bring any girl to her knees.

Part of you blushed bashfully but the other part of you laughed and jokingly slapped his arm. “Stop it!”

He laughed along, perhaps exclusively just to be able to experience laughing alongside you.

Taglist:

@rogertaylahh @tv-saved-the-teenage-girl @unamused-fangirl @eryberryy @mercurys-bike @fredthelegend @alexfayer @ma-ntequilla

[rosemallowss]

CREEPS Sweater Tutorial

[I recently found this in my drafts and realized that it’s too late, as there’s already a CREEPS long sleeve shirt you can buy on the merch site! But I’ll just post this to remember my failure]

Materials needed:

- Black long sleeved sweater or shirt

- Determination

- Money

- Patience

- Exacto knife

- Scissors

- Lint roller

- Iron

- Printer (NOT a laser printer)

- Flat surface

- Transfer paper (probably 2 packs depending on the amount in one)

- Pillow case

- Computer

- Word document (probably Microsoft word)

- This tutorial! :)

Step 1: Get transfer paper. Most packs come in 5 pieces of paper, so you may want to get two packs since CREEPS is 6 letters plus if you mess up. Make sure the transfer paper specifically says for dark clothing and that your material is 100% cotton/polyester.

Step 2: Get a plain long sleeved black shirt that fits you right! Or a black sweater. I used a black sweater since I love wearing those and find it a bit uncomfortable wearing shirts that stick to me. Make sure it is either 100% cotton or polyester.

Step 3: Download the font. One of the reasons most people don’t make the sweater is because they can’t find the correct font! However, I found it exactly (or almost exactly except for a minor detail)! Download the font “LEGEND M54” { https://www.dafont.com/legend-m54.font } and it should (I can’t remember) pop up in your word document.

Step 4: Now that you have your font, pick the right color. If you want, you could choose a lighter mint green color for the letters which is what I chose. But in certain lightings it looks white. However, you can use a darker mint green as most people who have made a CREEPS shirt have done. Either one! It’s honestly hard to tell what is the exact color of the original shirt.

Step 4: Getting the right size letters on the shirt. I stressed over this a lot. It depends on the size of YOU! I am a 5’0 fourteen year old girl, (and the shirt is still a bit big on me) but still used pretty big letters. I made the font size 600. You may want to print out a letter with an estimated font size on REGULAR PRINTER PAPER first; cut out the letter and place it on your sweater. If you like the size, keep it or adjust and practice accordingly. I printed out all the letters to make sure they all could fit on my sweater. Also take this time to practice cutting the letters perfectly as if they were your real letters going on your shirt and to save a bit of paper.

Step 5: Once you are satisfied with your letter size and color, print out the letters on your transfer paper. The instructions of your transfer paper should tell you the options to get the best quality transfer. Don’t start working on your shirt right away. My transfer told me to wait at least 30 minutes for the ink to dry on the paper but I waited 45 minutes cause I’m extra. ALSO DO NOT PRINT ON THE SIDE WITH LINES. Make sure the letters go on the blank side.

Step 6: Cutting it out. Now, when downloading the font, you’ll notice the little nubs on the letters. Just cut those off. It’s easier anyway. When you cut them off, you’ve got the exact font used on the sweater. When cutting, remember that there is a little back to the paper that you MUST peel off. (Believe me, I fucked up once) To make it easy for yourself, when cutting out a letter, make sure not to cut out a space of white paper. Then, using your exacto knife, slowly slice the surface of the white paper, but not deep enough to slice it in half. Peel that, not all the way, but just enough for your fingers to grab and peel it all off later. Then, cut off the white part. Be careful here because it gets a bit slippery when cutting this part.

Repeat with all the letters. On the letters “R” and “P” DO NOT FORGET to cut out the white space aka the holes of the letters. Otherwise, it’ll end up on your final product and ruin it.

Step 7: Get your sweater. My transfer paper specifically said not to use an ironing board, so I used my kitchen counter (cleaning it first of course). Put your pillow case on the counter, and IRON IT OUT TO PREVENT WRINKLES. Then lay your sweater on the pillowcase, smoothing it out so that there are no wrinkles. Have a lint roller and roll it all over your shirt. To be safe, do it 3 times. Do this to get rid of any crumbs or animal hair that’s on your shirt. DEFINITELY do this if you have a dog or other animal like me. Then, iron out your shirt to guarantee no wrinkles and get rid of any moisture in your shirt.

Step 8: Adjust your iron’s settings according to your paper transfer instructions. I adjusted mine to the highest heat setting, no steam, polyester/cotton.

Step 9: Place your letters on the shirt and line them up. I didn’t measure this part. I just used a reference of a picture of the sweater and kind of followed that. IRON THE "C" AND "S" LAST. If you do measure it, it will most likely depend on your height. Or, use this picture like I have done to get a reference.

Step 10: Peel the paper off of the letter. The letter should be flimsy in your hands. DO NOT FORGET TO PEEL IT OFF. Put the parchment paper on top of your yet to be ironed letter. Smooth it out with your hands to prevent any weird wrinkles or air bubbles. Then, iron it in an up-and-down and left-to-right motion, covering the whole letter for 13-20 seconds ONLY! I made the mistake at the beginning for doing it for a minute. It was too late when I realized that the next instruction told me to stop ironing when the letter started browning (if you go back on my account you can see the results) otherwise you’ll have some ugly white/yellow letters on your sweater.

Step 11: Wait for letter to cool down, then repeat for the rest of the letters on the chest (waiting for the letters to cool down between each iron), carefully eyeballing the reference to make sure your letters are spaced like the picture. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but I’m a bit of a perfectionist.

Step 12: If you DO happen to mess up and burn your letters. Do not fret! You could go buy another shirt and more transfer paper, but that may not help your wallet. Because you have two transfer packets, there are bound to be extra papers! Do step 4–6 again, and again repeating step 10, iron the letter on top of your burned, failed one. There may be a little outline of the failed letter around your new and perfect one, but from a normal distance it is not noticeable. You may have to do this the first time you do it. I have. :/

Step 13: The sleeves are a bit tricky. Since my sweater had been slightly big on me, the letters sagged on the sleeves, not lining up with REEP. If they don’t line up perfectly, it’s alright because when George Salazar performs, you can see that the letters are also not perfectly lined up.

Spread your sleeves out. Turn the letter sideways and put it on your sleeve so that it points in the direction your sleeve is pointing. You may want to put the sleeve back down next to the shirt with the letter still on it to see if they would line up with REEP. When you are satisfied, repeat step 10. Also, try to align the “C" with "S" so it doesn’t look off to other people. You may want to use a ruler to measure.

Step 14: Wait 24 hours to wear or wash. Don’t use a washing machine. Hand wash instead. Now you have a CREEPS sweater and you’re just in time for the off-broadway edition of Be More Chill in New York City! Or impressing your favorite actor/actress of Be More Chill! Or your favorite theatre nerds.

Step 15: Wear it. Take pictures. Make your friends scream and ask “HOW DID YOU FIND IT?” and whisper, “I found it online.”

Extra tips:

Don’t stress.

Don’t rely entirely on this tutorial. Use your transfer paper’s instructions as well.

If you’re kinda young, get your parent or guardian to help you out.

Thank me.

This took me roughly 6 hours to do because I was trying to figure out what the hell I was doing.

If you have any more questions. PLEASE SEND AN ASK so other BMC fans could scroll through and see them.

Enjoy!

—Jianne

[dandtg97]

Subwoofers Music Festival – The End

Wow. Just Wow. For weeks before the event, I remember saying with a mate, that we just wanted to get this damn event over and done with! Everything was so hectic… artists dropping out, artists not replying, awaiting legal documents from individuals – who expect me to trust them that I will have the papers less a week before the event.

I must admit that throughout this process – I feel as if I haven’t contributed half as much as I possibly could have. After getting in touch with the talent whom I liaised with, albeit it took a long time to book them due to special talent requirements and factors; for a week before, and after the day itself - I couldn’t help but think how little I actually did in the grand scheme of things. Maybe it’s because last year I was in the production team – where almost every significant step of the event happens.

And so to the day itself!

I gotta say… I’m a lucky son of a … yeah. I seem to recall back to our course’s first event, Winterland in 2016; when looking after the ice rink till late in the evening in the rose garden at the university, for a test run with uni students – I got to arrive at 10am on the event itself, as opposed to 4am like everyone else! *cheesy smug grin* Well, much like Winterland – I was assigned to come to the bus station at 12 to make sure all the talent, (the performers from uni societies) using the coach – were there. However, I was up and rolling at 8am just in case anyone wanted me to swap buses for whatever reason, and catch the 10am bus to the site. Of course, with all this spare time on my hands – I was able to accept requests to bring items from Sainsburys… i.e. canned espressos/ food etc.

By the time I had arrived at the bus shelter, I remember feeling that I had already done a day’s work – dragging my guitar, my loop pedal, (which I don’t have a bag that it fits in) a friend’s laptop, supplies for the day, and sun cream - for the mile trek to the Swan Theatre from home, under the blistering sun. Although I complain about the weather being too hot – in reality, it was perfect and I couldn’t have asked for it to have been any better. For a few weeks, many of us had worries it was going to rain on the day – which with the grass at the hearing dogs trust, would have led to a catastrophe! I arrived at the shelter at 11:45, and waited until I believed everyone was there – which was around 12:10. My favourite thing about doing this, was being able to make a quick announcement/ thank you for coming speech, on the bus. This process couldn’t have gone any better, as we set off at 12:15 – another 15 minutes before the coach was due to depart the station. (And no, we didn’t leave any stragglers running behind the bus!) It took the usual time to arrive on site at the hearing dogs site – and I counted everyone that came off the bus. Good news, the same amount got off, as got on – great success!

Despite being on the site multiple times over the course of organising Subwoofers – I still got easily lost on site. On top of this, I had absolutely no clue where I was going or what I was doing after arriving on site with the societies – so was relieved when I met Remely at the front gates to escort us all to the production office! After being taken to the production office, the volunteers and myself were to be given the roles for the day. Although Rem was very much on the ball… she was perhaps a little, too on the ball – for I couldn’t even drop my stuff in the corner before the safety induction started haha! Eventually, I was able to hop over and listen to her talk about what, and what not to do in the event of emergency or incident. However, when it came to giving out roles – the whole room raised an eyebrow! Understandably stressed – she was panicking and dancing around the room shouting jobs and co-ordinates. As a result, many of us were still in the production office when Michelle had come in the room and announced the event was ‘officially open’. However, good ol’ Rem kept her cool – and soon enough, everyone knew what they were doing, and where! Of course… I got lost en-route to my position, so had to get help from the production team leader to help guide me! (Shout out to Jessie, who did an absolutely sensational job for the whole event – whilst keeping calm and collected right from 7am when she arrived on site, to 9:30pm when we all left the site!) I believe the whole handing out of roles job, could have been made slightly easier, had everyone in the course known their position before arriving on site – and had a personal copy of the roles sheet, and site map. I understand though, that the site map was only finalised the day before – as a result of the dodgems arriving on site THE DAY BEFORE!?!?! These guys completely changed the layout of the site, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this added to the confusion of giving out roles!

About 10 minutes after being briefed, I was now at my ‘spot’ so to speak, and ready for whatever! What I did not expect however, was a call from the main stage assistant; asking if I would be willing to perform as ‘Dan the Guitarist’, on the main stage in 30 minutes, as James Kennedy – another act, had dropped out! OHH HECK YES! Although I was dying to perform - I did feel a little guilty, as I had only just been given my position, and someone would have to be found to cover my position! However, I didn’t feel so bad when I learnt that a volunteer from the 1st year on our course – Sophie, was still looking for a role! With that, I sprinted off to the production office to pick up my music stuff, before going to the stage and beginning to set up my equipment. It was an amazing experience to perform on that stage, and I have some amazing photos taken by friends and relatives!

After I had finished performing, I quickly said hi to my family and friends who had come to watch me play, and dashed off back to the production office to drop off my stuff again. I then retreated back to my position – awaiting my turn for my solo slot on the second stage - only 1 hour or so after I had returned!

Anyway, I will talk a little bit about my role. It was quite an easy role, and no doubt one of the easiest roles that could be given to anyone on the day. However, it was vital role – as it involved making sure the emergency vehicle turning point was kept clear in case of an emergency. The other side of my role entailed directing cars entering car park 2 to the right…which with only one car arriving every 30 minutes or so – was relatively easy… even for me. The most eventful thing that happened whilst I was in this position, was an ambulance (car), that parked semi-on the emrg. turning circle. The hard part came asking the driver if he was parking his car there to attend to an emergency, or there just in case an emergency happened! It turns out, he was only there to drop off welfare supplies to the medical tent on site – and returned in about 15 minutes to collect his car. Although the traffic coming through my area was minimal, I did come across two or three members from acts such as Horn Division, whom I did not know where to send (according to the plan). In one of these instances, I was able to find a quick cover – and escort the artist to the main stage, the same way I arrived at the main stage earlier. As touched on briefly above, if each steward were given a small booklet describing roles, w/ site map - simple (and expected) procedures like this one – could have been carried out by the book; leading to no confusion.

My next ‘big thing’, was playing on the second stage at 3:30. So from my position, I went to the production office, picked up my guitar once more – and travelled across to the furthest side of the field to the second stage. Yet again, another successful slot – I began to realise I had played for another 5 minutes longer than allotted. I remember looking for the next artist due on to show up – whom I knew was Sansha, and thinking, perhaps the sound tech will give me a last song warning… but neither happened. After I had exhausted my setlist, and even played some songs that were off my planned set  – I decided to play one more song, in the hope that Sansha turns up, making the changeover quick and easy. However, it was only about another 10 minutes after I had packed up, that Sansha arrived and began setting up! How could this have been prevented? Well, I guess it’s out of our control really – as I believe she said “traffic held me back.” However, I do believe that the artists should have been informed to arrive on site, one hour before being due to go on. Sansha was an artist whom I had liaised with from the beginning – seeing her perform before at our uni student union’s ‘vibes night’. Although as a group – the talent team were not keen to take her on for the event (Sansha’s music did not blend in with the theme of the day), and I was asked to drop her; I stuck to my guns – taking in to consideration that some acts may drop out. Of course, when some acts as expected - did drop out… I knew I could contact Sansha and confirm her place at the event. After her performance – and as the talent team concluded when first listening to her music before the event; she wasn’t quite the right sort of artist we were looking for on the day. On the other hand, because talent had ‘rid of’ other potential acts too earlier on in the process – this act was our only choice, and hope of keeping the event running smoothly. Hey ho, she did her job, and we kept the stage running smoothly 😊

I took a little break after performing on the second stage, and went to socialise with my family and friends, before making my way back to the production office. There was some issues stirring where some believed that, me performing on the stages – counted as my breaks… which I disagreed with, but took lightly as I know some of the guys who had been on site from 7ish, hadn’t even had a break yet! I know we had a few less stewards on the day than what we wanted… but of course, that happens at most events. So, when stewards were being moved around to cover positions; the log book explaining everyone’s roles and times went out the window a little. The only real way of solving this is by finding more volunteers/ security to cover positions – but I think communication could have been improved upon by those with radios (there were not many radios either), walking the whole site, and informing staff how long they have left in a position. My apologies if there were those people – as I did not see any myself.

One thing that cropped up in a lot of the feedback from visitors, was how great of an idea it was to have stewards walking around the site supplying sun cream! Although I don’t believe it was an ‘official role’ so to speak – It was a great idea, and some smart thinking!

My final role on the day, began when I had finished on the second stage, and after my break – around 4:30. I was directed to the front entrance to the site with the long driveway, where I was to welcome new visitors, and escort them to the ticket office at the other end of the site if they didn’t have wristbands. However, at this time – it was late in the day, and only 3 hours before closing time – so pretty much everyone had already bought tickets, and we just had to show them the right direction on to the main site! In the end, the role turned into waving goodbye to visitors and artists as they left – with the intention of delivering top customer service from start to finish 😉

There was one challenge in this particular role regarding guests of acts. On the day, artists like myself – were given the opportunity to put a number of relatives/ friends on a guest list; allowing those guests to enter the event for free. However, it appeared that many of the acts had not told their family who was part of the guest list/ who was not. Or perhaps it was not made clear enough that only (2 guests?) per each artist, were allowed on the guestlist? Either way, because I was not told about the procedure regarding guests; there were a number of times when I escorted a heard of guests on to the site to find the person in charge of maintaining/ operating the list. The lack of understanding with what was happening, also caused us to panic – meaning some cars parked in the wrong area. However, this car park had many available spaces, and the guests who parked in these spaces, exited the site safely at the end of the event. I spoke with James, who was overseeing the event with Alan on the day, and told him of the situation regarding guest lists. And I was told to just let all the guests/ relatives of the acts in, and receive wristbands - what I had been thinking was perhaps the best idea.

There was a slight tension in the class when everyone learnt I might be going back home early with the talent *eek*… but the tension deescalated when someone from one of the university societies said they were able to make their own way home, and had been debriefed!

Overall, it was a truly amazing day – and I am still ‘buzzing’ with excitement from the event. My personal Facebook ‘Dan the Guitarist’ page, went through the roof with activity – and I received some messages saying how much people liked my performance!

[sexonastickstan]

Day 3 - Amy's trip to NYC (a day late because damn Tumblr deleted my post last night and I was too tired to type it all up again)

Day started off the same as the last, my friend and I woke up, entered lotteries, and grabbed breakfast. After breakfast we chilled a little and packed up our bags because we were switching hotels later. We checked out of that hotel, asked them to hold our luggage, and walked to the NBC building. The day before my friend and I were told that between 11-12 we could get tickets to go to a rehearsal of the Late Night with Seth Meyers monologue. So we went, got the free tickets, and then went downstairs to get Starbucks. The barista said that he liked my Alice in Wonderland shirt and when I went to leave he said, "I hope you like your name." I was kind of confused and so was my friend until I got my cup and it said "Amy in Wonderland" on it. It was too cute!!! We drank our coffees while we watched people skate in Rockefeller Center. It was very nice. While sitting there we got our emails saying that we didn't with the lotteries we entered for shows that day. After that, we walked back to our hotel, got our luggage, and took an uber to our new hotel that we are splitting with three other friends for the con. We were the first ones there and got the king bed to share since we were already sharing at the other hotel. The room is super nice!! There is the king bed, a bunk bed, a sleeper sofa, a wii, and a 3D blu-Ray player. It's so cool!! Nicest hotel I've ever stayed in, probably. So once we got settled in our new room, we ventured back outside. This hotel is farther away so it was kind of a haul to get back towards Broadway and time square. We stopped in two geeky shops along the way and it was so hard not to buy anything. It took so much will power. Then we walked back to the NBC studio because it was time to check in for the Seth Meyers monologue rehearsal. We checked in, went through security, and as we were about to head up to the studio, the security guard told us to keep our eyes open because you never know who you might see up there. I said to my friend, "if I see Kate McKinnon I will flip." Because I absolutely adore her. So we went upstairs and I saw the top of the Saturday Night Live set and it was a surreal but really cool feeling. Then we were taken into the Seth Meyers set and we sat down while he talked to us for a bit and then did his spiel. It was really funny! I was a little surprised I laughed as much as I did because there was a lot of political humor and I don't usually find that too funny, but I was dying of laughter. The rehearsal took about 45 minutes and then after that we exited through the store we came in through. I stepped aside and told my friend I had to slip on my coat before we went back outside. As I was getting my coat on, who walks by me? Kate. McKinnon. Oh. My. God. I started smacking my friend on the shoulder and I just whisper "THAT WAS KATE!" I didn't want to be creepy but she headed outside and I was like "do we follow her?!" And my friend and I went out onto the street after her and got stuck at the same crosswalk. I whispered to my friend if she could say hi first but my friend didn't know who Kate was so it would've been weird, lol. So I plucked up the courage and tapped her on the shoulder and said, "Kate?" She turned to look at me and I was like, "Kate? Hi, I'm a huge fan of yours." And she reached out her hand towards me and said, "Hi, what's your name?" And I told her Amy since somehow in that moment I managed to remember what my name was. She said, "it's nice to meet you, Amy." I asked if I could get a picture with her and she said no problem. So we took a picture and it's now my favorite picture in all of existence and she's smiling and her cute dimples are showing and omg I love her so much. So I thanked her and once again babbled how I was a huge fan and said goodbye and she went on her way. I hid behind a building and literally started jumping up and down and saying over and over again, "holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!" A lady who must've saw me with her asked "was that Kate McKinnon?" I said yes and I said I was such a fan and the lady said she was too and asked if Kate was nice. I said yes, she was very nice and then my friend and I headed off towards the theatre where Dear Evan Hansen is currently playing to see if we could get cheap tickets. Unfortunately, they didn't have any available that we were willing to pay (way over $100 like omg we're poor fresh out of college kids lol) so we left there and went to the theatre where Waitress was playing to see what prices they had. Waitress had tickets slightly more expensive than we wanted to pay for, but we did it anyway and bought the tickets. After that, we walked towards Ellen's Stardust Diner. On the way there, a guy handing out brochures for something looks at me and goes, "You want a tall black man tonight? I love gingers and gingers love me." My friend and I kept walking and I say to her, "Not all of them." Lol. Then we get to the diner which is basically my favorite restaurant in the world. If you've never been, it's like the restaurant Kurt, Rachel, and Santana worked at in the last seasons of Glee. If you didn't watch Glee, the diner is basically home of the singing wait staff. They're all so talented and amazing I'm always amazed. They sang One Day More and it was marvelous. Then a guy (super attractive) sang Santa Fe from Newsies and as soon as my friend and I heard the first notes we looked at each other and grinned like idiots because we're both huge newsies fans. The guy killed the song and it made him even that much more attractive lol. He totally could play Jack Kelly. Then another waiter sang You'll Be Back from Hamilton and the dude could be the next King George. Honestly. So good. Then a waitress sang Don't Stop Believing and I don't care that Glee has been over for almost two years now, I still get super emotional whenever I hear that song lol. There was a kids chorus at the diner as well with kids of all ages and they did a beautiful version of Seasons of Love. Then a waiter (who was not our waiter) drops a beer off right in front of me and wiggles his eyebrows at me. I have no idea what was up with this beer. No one said anything about it, I didn't see anyone else get one, and it wasn't on our bill. Maybe twenty minutes later the same waiter walks by and gives me another look before going past. I was so confused. He had a wedding ring on and I'm pretty sure he was gay so I still have no idea what that was all about but my friend and I shared the beer for free so it was all good, lol. After we finished dinner, we walked back to Waitress for the performance. As soon as you walk in the theatre it smells like pies baking and it's so wonderful and welcoming and warm. The show was incredible. I heard great things but I didn't know how I would like it but I loved it. The male lead was so attractive oh my goodness lol. My friend and I have basically been drooling over guys this whole trip haha. Jessie Mueller is so talented and to hear her sing She Used to be Mine live gave me chills and it was so wonderful. I can't say enough wonderful things about this show. Sweet, hilarious, sexy, touching, just to name a few. When it was over my friend and I went to the stage door and got to meet some of the cast. When the male lead came out my friend and I got very excited and as he was signing the playbill of the person right before me, a guy from behind me said to him, "Your voice is like a buttery canvas!" We started dying and the actor paused, looked like he was considering these words, and repeated them. "A buttery canvas." It was hilarious. Then he signed my playbill and my friend's and we just watched him as he went down the line lol. Unfortunately Jessie Mueller didn't come out but I was in the same room as her talent so that's enough for me! Then we walked in the freezing cold wind back to our hotel and sang along to the Hamilton soundtrack as we waited for our other friends to come back from shopping. We hugged them hello and stayed up for a while talking before finally tucking into bed for the first day of the con in the morning!