Art by  Esil and you can find the original upload here >> and it was gifted to me by my good friend  Serratia
Solis upload >>
Serratia's upload >>

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Summer 2022 and the reopening of borders was celebrated with meeting friends and going to concerts as presented in \m/ Metal Summer 22 \m/. In 2023, we kept that trend up! And this time, this ness got more of a "center stage!"

First we made another trip down to mainland Europe where we met up with some friends and hung out at beaches before loading up the car with goodies and heading back home. Then followed concerts with Nightwish (one of my absolute favourite bands!), Art Nation and Eleine. Finished my park ranger ed. Then came the high point of it all: friends from USA and Europe coming to visit and staying with me for a few weeks! So many good times were had: food, drinks, games, going places... and I got to be the local tour guide and show people around the medieval city center with castle and cathederal as well as mines and nature preserves. It was really fun and a bunch of other nearby tourists started listening in as well. Got a lot of compliments for how good of a guide I am, so that felt pretty great ^_^

Also spent a lot of time fishing, exploring and visiting historic sites. Then it was time for Stockholm Pride and I marched in the Pride Parade before enjoying Pride Park to its fullest with all the people, shows, performances and expos. Especially interesting was the "Kinky Quarter" where I saw some live whipping, snu-snu wrestling, a shibari show, you name it. And SO MANY SEX TOYS. Was looking for a black leather collar with a heart for myself (because I felt kind of catgirly) but they were sadly too small for me. The very nicle gentleman selling them saw my disappointment and tried his best to find others for me, but they just weren't my style... until I saw one over his shoulder. He placed me in front of a mirror, put it around my neck, locked it in and gave a tug at it. It fit like a glove, and I was almost about to cream myself during it. It was *very* hot. Also ended up making some new friends there.

Then it ended with a day at the shooting range where I got a series of 4x 5-1s, and afterwards we went downtown because Arch Enemy (another absolute favo band of mine!) came to my city to play. They are SO GOOD LIVE, oh my God.

While concerts and such is great, I really do appreciate the company and spending time with friends more than anything. Especially to see some of them let loose and really enjoy themselves while being safe in good company. That really warms my heart more than anything else.

So here I am, rocking out with some of my closest people;  Sanguis Venator and  Serratia ! Rock and metal is in my blood and makes me feel alive, and so do my friends! And I hope to see even more of you next year! And I will keep fucking rocking with my friends well into the next fucking century! Which is a bit difficult but we'll try.

Raise your glasses! Love you all, stay awesome!
// Val