#the two X&V drawings I did were actually timestamps of the days I was first diagnosed to when I was confirmed negative

[collarful-clover]

Thinking about it now, the best thing I could’ve done for myself was actually branch out and engage in content that I enjoyed and not follow people into fandoms for the sake of not losing that friendship. My art really did begin to improve two years ago when I let myself get involved in things that I genuinely enjoyed.

Once I got my simple and basic style figured out from cartoons I liked, I ended up falling for rtah stuff, that let me build on what I already knew to make it better. I transitioned from basic cartoon anatomy to complex real life structures in the span of 4 months during one of the hardest points of my life. Unstoppable force meets an immovable object. Quite impressed if I’m being honest

[thebiggaylion]

Marshmello @ EDC Orlando 2017 (with Gareth Emery and Excision)

It’s April, ya’ll!  There’s no more excuses for cold weather, so could someone tell Mother Nature to knock it off with all the snow for my friends up north?  Music festival season is definitely underway, and us Floridians ain’t trying to rave in no snow (but shout out to those who manage to do it anyway!).  As long as we’re on the topic of northerners, one of my friends was talking to me regarding Marshmello earlier in the week.  I knew that when I got around to posting this segment that it would need to also include Excision, whom he loves.  So, since this same friend was my original inspiration for my first ever #ThrowbackThursday, (which was for Excision), it seems liked that conversation was the perfect sign from the universe on what to post this week!  Before we get into all that, though, I had to split this post, but decided to do it in a slightly different way.  Instead of just doing two parts down the middle, I’ve decided to take the Marshmello stuff and the non-Marshmello stuff and put them each in a post.  We’ll see how it turns out in the end... and while I don’t think I’ve ever explicitly stated this before, feedback has always been and will always be welcome!

YouTube | Facebook | Instagram What a great way to start the set!  No, this wasn’t his opener, but I think his remix of Waiting for Love is a huge improvement over what seemed like a bit of weird pacing of the original, so I just loved hearing it. Avicii - Waiting for Love (Marshmello Remix) https://soundcloud.com/aviciiofficial/waiting-for-love-marshmello Slushii x Marshmello - Twinbow https://soundcloud.com/aviciiofficial/waiting-for-love-marshmello

Find this photo on Instagram | Find this photo on Facebook So those folks who were dancing in front of me in the video above turned around, saw me, and she wanted a picture!  Turns out these Norwegians are actually from Norway, accents and all!  Usually I think of the other large music festival in Florida being the one to attract international visitors, but I suppose Orlando is still the tourism capital of the world, so of course there’s draw for folks to visit here besides EDC Orlando... but it was really cool to meet some legit international headliners!

Find this photo on Instagram | Find this photo on Facebook Of course, getting a pic with only part of the crew is never best, and this year the husband behind The Big Gay Lion could act as a photographer for folks who wanted a pic without the selfie perspective haha.  We actually ran into these folks once more on the way home after Day 1 was over!  I didn’t get any socials from them, but they’re as delightful as they look!

Find this photo on Instagram | Find this photo on Facebook Speaking of delightful (and selfie perspective), here’s another headliner that’s a good example of someone who saw me taking pictures, and decided to get one for themselves haha.  I didn’t get a line on this gal, but I love a headliner that’s all smiles and loves to get in close for a great pic!  And who doesn’t love a flower crown at a music festival?

At this point, the husband of the guy behind The Big Gay Lion wasn’t feeling Marshmello like I thought he would, so we walked around the festival for a little bit.  I was interested in seeing some of the other acts performing at neonGARDEN and circuitGROUNDS during this time slot anyway, so off we went!

YouTube | Facebook | Instagram We’re leaving kineticFIELD along the edge of Rainbow Road, kinda near the merchandise tent, and-... holy crap, would you look at this!  At the time I took this video, I didn’t realize how her altitude and such was controlled (there are two tech guys holding onto the whole thing, leading it around and such), but we’ve never seen anything like this at EDC Orlando’s past.  I decide this shot can turn into a decent atmosphere video, and decide to pan back to kineticFIELD.  You can see the Pulse Portal art installation on the left side of the video, just before I zoom into kineticGAIA).  Once I started paying attention to what I was hearing, I knew for sure I’d love this video... this song is one of my favorites! Ookay - Thief https://soundcloud.com/ookaymusic/thief

YouTube | Facebook | Instagram So we made our way over to neonGARDEN, and saw a dude I’ve always loved not only because of his amazing music, but because of the positive, energetic vibe he brings to his (now concluded) podcast series.  Even though I didn’t stay long, apparently the universe was smiling at me, because... I caught an ID haha.  This one doesn’t seem to be out yet, but both himself and Ashley Wallbridge dropped this for Armin van Buuren’s A State Of Trance 850, and the video link to that show is below, timestamped to it’s appearance in the stream (@48:30). Ashley Wallbridge & Gareth Emery - ID https://youtu.be/4OLfAFkL8EY?t=48m30s Ben Nicky - Cobra https://soundcloud.com/bennicky/ben-nicky-cobra

YouTube | Facebook | Instagram And speaking of amazing luck, I managed to catch this clip during Excision’s set at circuitGROUNDS while his awesome Harambe visuals were up.  The song that followed was fire too, so while I’m certain the entire performance was just as hot as last time, I’d like to think I caught one of the highlights! Excision, Datsik, and Dion Timmer - Harambe https://soundcloud.com/excision/x-harambe Whyel - Revolt https://soundcloud.com/harshrecordslabel/whyel-revolt-1

YouTube | Facebook | Instagram After heading back down Rainbow Road to kineticFIELD, we must have run into some of the folks we knew, for we stopped kinda far back.  Doesn’t bother me, cause that just means I can get the whole of kineticGAIA in my shot!  Also, here’s one of those pop-crossover moments that I love!  Yeah, yeah, Guns N’ Roses would probably die than be called “pop”, but “pop” is slang for “popular”, and if you think Sweet Child O’ Mine wasn’t popular, then you are too young to remember it being on the radio (or simply haven’t listened to a radio station that focuses on the 1980′s since then)!  Also, I think it’s great that Guns N’ Roses has a SoundCloud!  This song is back-linked on their SoundCloud page as being THIRTY-ONE YEARS OLD.  That’s not the oldest song I’ve ever posted about (the winner would likely be when Alison Wonderland dropped Bill Withers in 2016, which at the time was released forty-five years earlier!), but it’s reaching back in time for sure! Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine https://soundcloud.com/guns-n-roses-official/sweet-child-o-mine Galantis - Runaway (U & I) https://soundcloud.com/wearegalantis/galantis-runaway-u-i-1 Reece Low - Bounce That Ass https://soundcloud.com/reecelow/reece-low-bounce-that-ass-original-mix-1

YouTube | Facebook | Instagram Here’s yet another pop-crossover moments!  Each song after the next was great, but I had no idea where he was going with his mix when I started recording haha.  Also, Papa Roach has a SoundCloud too?  And here I thought that platform may only get utilized for pop, hip-hop, and dance! Jack Ü feat. Kiesza - Take Ü There https://soundcloud.com/diplo/jack-u-take-u-there-feat-kiesza Knife Party - Boss Mode https://soundcloud.com/knifepartyinc/knife-party-boss-mode Papa Roach - Last Resort https://soundcloud.com/paparoach/last-resort RL Grime feat. Djemba Djemba - Valhalla https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cE_CUiteaM

Download High Res (35.4 MB) | Download Low Res (4 MB) End of the night?  More pyro!  I’ve been doing 15-frame GIF’s since I ran into the 2 megabyte soft limit on Tumblr, but this one I wanted to do with only 14 so I can get close to a perfect loop on that fire haha. At this point, the husband of the guy behind The Big Gay Lion starts getting all impatient, and wants to try to beat the crowd out of the festival.  Yes, I know that’s not possible with EDC Orlando.  No, he didn’t know that.  But after this moment, we walked back to the locker, got our stuff, and headed out.

Find this photo on Instagram | Find this photo on Facebook But before we got to the exit, I saw one of the most amusing totems of the year.  Maybe of all time?  A big ol’ screen shot of Trixie Mattel from her YouTube series with Katya called UNHhhh.  That’s not a typo, the title is just post-verbal.  The show is one of all-time favorites for the guy behind The Big Gay Lion, so he loves this pic!

Find this photo on Instagram | Find this photo on Facebook After exiting Tinker Field (and running into those Norwegian headliners at a crosswalk!), I got back to the car (may it rest in peace), and got the head dress off.  As you can see in this pic I snapped, my head dress wasn’t properly affixed to my noggin for Day 1, and there is almost zero remaining impressions on my forehead.  But, I was definitely messing with it all day, which was quite annoying.  The line of makeup you see missing from my forehead was intentional.  I figured if the head dress didn’t move, then I wouldn’t need to paint everything... man I was wrong, because if you look back at all my Day 1 stuff (which is easily done using my Tumblr Index!), you can see where the makeup stopped just below the headband in almost every one!  Ugh.  I tried to be lazy, and now it’s been immortalized in all my Day 1 pics from 2017 haha.  Don’t worry, as you may have already seen from my Day 2 stuff, I didn’t make the same mistake twice!

So there we go!  Probably one of my most musically diverse posts ever haha.  I did a lot of walking around this year--even moreso than I did in 2016--and while I did enjoy myself, it was hard to get into the groove.  I might have to let the husband of the guy behind The Big Gay Lion hang out with the biggest fan and his group of headliners so I can stick to a show I like and get into the groove properly!  But, that’s for seven months from now... only 218 days left to go, right?  Right!  Oh, and don’t forget there’s two parts to this post if you so desire to have this content split logically.  Love ya’ll, see ya next time! 🏳️‍🌈🦁❤

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