What an incredible weekend... and one that doesn't officially end until tomorrow, as maybe742 is still here! She flew in from Germany, and shares the "longest distance traveled" prize with nerilka24, who came from the UK.

fansee joined us from Philadelphia, sevigny7, not_yet_defined and IJ's outlander from nearby Midwestern states, happier_bunny from right here in Michigan, and my friend Travis (orlith) flew in from California.

The nine of us watched a selection of episodes from all five seasons, then went back and watched a few scenes to critique Justin's blowjob technique analyze their literary and dramatic significance. We talked about the show and although some had not only never met but had never even interacted with each other online, it was incredible how much harmony we had over virtually everything about the show except outlander's bizarre delusion that Brian can dance.

Travis and outlander flew the Brian-lovers' flag high all weekend, and in general acted like the twins separated at birth they apparently are. It was uncanny!

We watched the 150 minutes of fan videos Bunny put together with our darling qafmaniac(present in spirit!), including 12 minutes of just brian and Justin's sex scenes that qafmaniac edited together... gotta love her!!!!!

We consumed vast quantities of ziti and lemon bars and just about every other QAF food bunny and I could stomach come up with. We dragged ourselves off to bed late at night, then some of us got up early, swallowed just enough coffee to sustain life, and headed into the woods to walk Rawley -- who LOVED all the extra "roommates," and especially Maybe and Travis, who he's going to miss most of all.

We recounted old fandom wank and dissected our most beloved bad/crack!fic, with Amish!Justin, blindfolded!escort!Justin and serial!killer!mermaid!Brian being the favorites. We even came up with two exciting fandom projects that you'll see soon!

I can't remember another time I felt so happy and full of warmth, laughter and friendship this weekend. I was there with two of my closest friends, along with women I'd never met before but felt like I'd known forever, as well as some of my favorite people in the world, in fandom and out. It was an extraordinary weekend. I'll never forget it!

We had a lot of fun eating the QAF-themed foods, too! I have photos and some video, which I'll post later after I can get my iPhone to speak to my computer, but for now, I just wanted to let you know it was AAAAAAAHHHHH-MAZING! Thank you to everyone who joined us!

AND LONG LIVE QAF FANDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!

Xiefest starts tomorrow!!!!

nerilka24 and maybe742 got into Detroit today and are heading here tomorrow (Friday)... Travis (orlith), fansee, sevigny7, IJ's outlander, and not_yet_defined are all arriving tomorrow, and bunny and I spent the day shopping and getting ready. (It's possible at least one other fan is joining us, and of course, everyone is STILL welcome!)

Here are the plates for our "pink plate specials," along with a few other things you might recognize. ;)



( More under the cut... )

I can't believe how close Xiefest is! So close that it's time for us to figure out mundane things like airport pick-ups, how many air beds we need, where everyone's going to sleep, and how much food to have on hand.

We'd like to get a head count of those who are definitely coming, along with:

1: Arrival and departure dates

2: If you're flying in, when your flights arrive and depart to/from Detroit, so we can get you picked up and dropped off.

3: If you'll need a bed, or are bringing your own -- we can provide real beds or air mattresses with bedding for as many of you as need them, so don't be shy! And thanks to outlander , the sleep-over queen, LOL!

4: If you're coming but would rather stay at a hotel or b&b, and would like local recommendations.

We also have something fun we'd like to ask you. We are aiming for some QAF-themed foods for the weekend. What are your favorites? Please suggest every food you can think of from the show! And we also promise to have, you know, GOOD food. ;)

Thanks to nerilka24 , who along with maybe742 is JOINING US FROM EUROPE, for the Xiefest 2 icons... they are for sharing!



For anyone who has no idea what I'm talking about... click on the "Xiefest" tag and read from the beginning. But in short, this is a fandom gathering at my home in Michigan, with happier_bunny serving as co-hostess and sleep-over annex, being held Oct 14-16. I had one five years ago in San Francisco (that would have been Xiefest 1), so this is now an official tradition. ;)

EVERY FAN is welcome. We just need to know you're coming. Don't be shy!

If you are not sure if you can come, please let us know anyway. It will help us plan just to know how many "maybes" there might be.

And jule1122 and brianslave68 and vlredreign? We're not taking "no" for an answer. Get your cute little butts over here!

Just confirming that Xiefest 2 is happening the weekend of Oct. 14-16 at my house in Michigan. If you don't know what Xiefest is, just click on the "Xiefest" tag and read the whole thing... and if you decide you can join us, just post! We have people coming from all over the country and even from EUROPE! I can't wait!

Ummm... we need a Xiefest 2 icon!

Okay, thanks to everyone who took the poll! The official weekend for Xiefest II is:

Oct. 14-16!

More information will be posted as I figure it out, but for now, let me just say yes, all QAF fans past and present are welcome, just post if you have questions, Pittsburgh is 4 hours from here, Toronto around 2 hours, and the nearest major airport is in Detroit. :)

Not sure what I'm talking about? Want to know who else is coming?

Click here for all Xiefest II posts on IJ -- the very first one is here.

Click here for all Xiefest II posts on LJ -- the very first one is here.

Love,

Xie

Time to get serious about the dates for Xiefest, so people can make their plans, buy their plane tickets, etc!

I made a poll (of course). Now, here's the thing.

I know some of you can't come. :(

I know some of you will only be able to come if you win the lottery or fairies fly you there.

If either of those things are the case, please don't respond, because I need to pick the date based on the people who are most likely to attend.

However, if you think there's a decent chance you'll be able to make it, don't feel you need to commit to absolutely attending. Take the poll anyway.

And here it is:

[Poll #1748850]

GUESS WHO IS COMING TO XIEFEST????

Travis! (orlith)

Travis is a long, longtime friend of mine -- we've known since the mid-90s! He is the friend who first got me to watch Queer as Folk; in fact, Season One was his Christmas gift to me in 2005, after a few years of telling me, "You'd really like this show, you should watch it, it has great hair" went unheeded.

I was just a little into the pilot when I put it on pause and called him. "This boy is SEVENTEEN."

"Well," he said, "the ACTOR isn't seventeen. Keep watching. You'll like it."

And I did. Then... well, you know the rest.

So anyway, Travis is coming to Xiefest in October! I'm so excited!

Love you, sweetie!

This is us, at the Xena convention in LA in 2008:



Xie

Well, I'm so excited at the response to my query about interest in a fandom gathering at my new place in Michigan! It's looking like one of the following weekends:

Oct 14-16 or Oct 21-23

The nearest major airport is Detroit, about 45 minutes away. Bunny has offered her house (around 40 mins from here) for sleepover purposes, and I have a guest room and a large living room with a sofa bed. So if you need a place to stay, or even just a place to unroll a sleeping bag, we can fit you in! And I'm sure we can arrange some kind of airport pick-up for anyone who flies in and doesn't want to rent a car.
Where I am exactly is here:

http://goo.gl/SmWb4

These are photos of my house before I moved in -- the two with furniture? Not my stuff. ;)

http://pics.livejournal.com/xie_xie_xie/gallery/0001aa9d?.view=grid

Please let me know if one of those two weekends is a "no" but the other is a "yes," and we'll pick the one that is best for everyone!

YAY!!!!

And if you don't know what the heck I'm talking about:

http://xie-xie-xie.insanejournal.com/323244.html
http://xie-xie-xie.livejournal.com/227663.html

And to reiterate: If you're reading this, you're invited. This is an open fandom gathering, and by "fandom" I do mean QAF, but if you have drifted away to other shiny things, as long as you were once one of us, you're welcome to join in!

Once upon a time I had a fandom gathering in San Francisco -- we called it Xiefest. Now that I've moved and I'm in a totally different part of the country (Southeastern Michigan), I was sort of thinking about having another one.

So, let's pretend for the moment that you were free whenever it was that it was happening -- would you be interested in coming? If so, when might work for you?

And for those reading this who are saying, "She can't mean ME! She doesn't know me!" -- yes, I do mean you. I opened Xiefest to everyone last time, and made some wonderful and lasting friends out of total strangers. And even those who ended up drifting away, hell, we still had a great time. So if you're reading this, yes, you're invited. :)

Let me know...

Oh, and pee ess, looks like the final chapter of the "Only Time" series will be going to beta on Tuesday!

Love,

Xie