#got lost in the fiiiiire

[bluespring864]

thanks a lot tennisblr for digging up these emo Andrey tweets and catapulting me straight back to my teenage years 😅 have had The Rasmus stuck in my head for days now

[pinkatron]

So I saw Andrzej Sapkowski   said something about a manuscript where Regis had lived...

And so I have been having fun with that Idea. 

I am taking the lady of the lake... using the last chapters, and filling them with our fav vampire :3

Keep in mind most of this is actually directly from the Lady of the lake book, I am adding pieces and parts here and there. Cause why the hell not. of course if I ever post the full thing it’s gonna be Geralt/Regis but here we go anyway

Credit for most of what is written in this snippet goes to Andrzej Sapkowski  Author of the witcher, and the Lady of the Lake. 

........

On the nineth of April, soon after midnight, the first residents of Clairmont were awoken by a flickering brightness, a red blaze that struck and flooded into the windows of their homesteads. The rest of the towns Residences were roused from their beds by screams, commotion, and the insistent sounds of the bell tolling the alarm.

Only one building was on fire to start with. It was huge, and wooden , formerly a temple, once concentrated by a deity whose name even the oldest grandmothers couldn’t remember. A temple, now converted into an amphitheater, where animal-baiting, fights, and other entertainment was held. Capable of hauling the small town of Claremont out of its boredom, depression, and drowsy torpor.

It was the amphitheater that was now burning in a sea of roaring fire, shaking from explosions as casks of oil and blasting powder their sounds echoing across the din of panicked voices. Ragged tongues of flame, several yards long, shot from all the windows.

“Fiiire!” Roared the merchant Houvenaghel, the owner of the amphitheater, running and waving his arms around, his great paunch wobbling. He was wearing a night cap and a heavy, Karakul coat he had thrown over his nightshirt. He was kneading the dung and the mud of the care street with his feet. “Fiiiiire! Heeeeeeelp! Waaaaaateeeeeerr!”

“It’s a divine punishment!” Pronounced one of the oldest of grandmothers authoritatively. “For those rumpuses they held in a house of worship!” “Yes, yes madam. No doubt about it!”

A glow emanated from the roaring theater, horse urine steamed and stank, and sparks hissed in puddles. A wind had got up from who knows where.

“Put out the fiiiiiire!” Houvenaghel howed desperately, seeing it quickly begin to spread to the brewery and the grainery. “Heeeeelp! Fetch buckets! Fetch Buuuuuuckeeets!”

There was no shortage of volunteers. Why, Claremont even had it’s own fire brigade, equipted and maintained by Houvenaghel himself. They tried to put out the fire Doggedly and with dedication. But in vain.

“We can’t cope…” Groaned the chief of the fire brigade, wiping his blistered face. “That is no ordinary fire… it’s the devil’s work!”

“Black magic!” Another fireman choked on the smoke. 

From the inside of the amphitheater could be heard the terrible cracking of rafters, ridges, and posts breaking. There was a roar, and a bang and a crash, a great column of fire and sparks exploded into the sky, and the roof caved in and fell into the arena. Meanwhile the whole building listed over, you could say it was bowing to the audience, which it was entertaining and diverting for the last time, pleasing it with a stunning, truly fiery spectacle. 

And then the walls collapsed. 

The Efforts the firefighters and rescuers meant that half of the granary, and about a quarter of the Brewery were saved.

A foul smelling dawn arose.

Houvenaghel sat in the mud and ash, in his soot covered nightcap, and karakul coat. He sat and wept woefully, whimpering like a child.

The theater, brewery, and granary he owned were insured, naturally. The problem was that the insurance company was also howned by Houvenaghel. Nohing, not even a tax swindle, could have made good even a fraction of the losses.

And his losses were far from over, but soon to end. A man stood, rising from the embers of the fire, wearing robes that the fire hadn’t touched. Houvenaghel was stunned, weeping. And couldn’t move for all his strength seemed to be sapped out of himself as the man, paced through the embers and small flames of the fallen building. The man reached him, and pulled him up. He looked at Houvenaghel, and Houvenaghel realized it was the demon that had done this.

“You have wounded someone dear to me, and allowed others of the most innocent castes to be wounded, all in the name of entertainment.” The being hissed, his eyes black, and glowing red. “For that you shall never be forgiven, and never shall you be able to walk this earth and wound another.”

Pain seared through him. Pain and misery, and the pain and misery of the hundreds of people who’s lives were lost in his theater, rocked through him. It was a blessing when the creature opened his maw, and the sharp teeth ripped into his neck. Little did he know the blessing would be short lived. He heard the cries of those around him that were witnessing his death in the dawn of morning. But his world was fading, swiftly turning black as powerful teeth worked at his throat, and his very soul was sucked from his body. 

The body was then piked for all to see, in the middle of the still hot embers of the amphitheater. There Houvenaghel took his last breath, being slowly cooked alive as onlookers whispered about a vengeful god in black robes.

It wasn’t over for them however. When one demon disappeared into the mists, another took his place. 

The first merchant to cross the gate house, saw only one thing. Slaughter and bloodshed. Not a single person, man, women, or child, was left to live. When the garrison arrived some days later to investigate, the bodies were gone. Gone, and the rest of the town was left to ruin. Cursed by an unknown power, who’s effigy lay in the ruins of the desecrated temple, where only a single body remained, being slowly picked apart by crows who’s eyes were just as red as the Demon’s.

[freshmusicfreak]

Having never been to Dreamstate SoCal, I didn’t really know what to expect other than all trance everything.  So when I found out my long-time Seattle buddies were going to Trancegiving, and it’s their yearly tradition, I was ecstatic! Although we’ve been going to shows for 13 years, this would be the first massive event I’ve traveled to and attended with them.  There is truly nothing better than rolling into a show with all your friends. And every time you feel a huge moment of joy, looking around and seeing the faces of a dozen people you love.

And my GOD, the lineup!!!  There were so many conflicting artists playing at the same time, picking who to see was difficult at best.  But since I’ve been going to shows since 2000, my choices tend to be different from most. I happily give up seeing big names I’ve seen before for lesser known artists I’ve never seen.  So here’s my highlight reel…

Estiva can always be counted on for a well thought out set that goes from smooth to bumping in minutes without ever feeling jarring.  One of my favorite things about great trance artists is their ability to use music to elicit so many emotions in a single hour. Estiva brought all the highs and lows, and rather than concentrating on individual tracks, I just let the music and lights wash over me and simply absorbed the atmosphere in its entirety.  Insomniac’s visuals were absolutely stunning. They moved with the tunes from starry nights to consoles, then purple skies streaming up towards the ceiling. Amazingly, there was still room to dance up front center stage so I let myself move and groove to the music with no concern of bumping into anyone.

Early In the Night | Photo Credit Danielle Renee

Amazing Visuals | Photo Credit Danielle Renee

Still Room to Dance | Photo Credit Henry Brian Morton

One of my girlfriends absolutely LOVES Giuseppe Ottaviani and I’ve been dying to see him, so I stuck to the Dream stage.  He immediately had me jumping up and down cheering for Eat Sleep Rave Repeat and then just kept it going with Your Mind. I looked around at that moment, and sure enough, everyone was losing it.  Knowing we had hours yet to go, Giuseppe calmed it down just a wee bit and brought in more melody and vocals with a nod to two artists making appearances later in the show, Markus Schulz and Emma Hewitt.  But he only gave us a small break cause he brought it back up right away. The second I heard the first Oooooohhhhh vocals I shrieked like the Anjuna fan that I am cause I instantly recognized Northern Soul.  And of course, I was joined singing by every other Anjunafam of which there were A LOT. One of my FAVORITE things about electronic music is hearing an original track and then every other artist’s twist on it. Giuseppe, thank you for this hard-hitting version of an already phenomenal song!  Unlike most, I almost never cry at shows cause I’m in my happy place. But Giuseppe recorded a message at the end of his set that made me tear up and was the perfect ending to a perfect set. “The reason why I’m here is actually the same reason why you are here. I finally found what I’ve been searching for.  Something that can make me feel good. Something to be proud of. Something that’s able to put a smile on my face even when things go wrong. If you hear this message it’s because you’ve finally made it. If you’re here now it’s cause we walk the same way. My name is Giuseppe Ottaviani and I’m a music lover.”

It was finally time to journey to the Vision stage for Solarstone, another trance legend I’ve never gotten to see.  By the time I found my perfect spot, he’d already started and was dropping from some heavy beats down to lingering chords, just in time for the lights to go dark.  An instant later, the lights exploded on from behind, like the iris of an eye. I wasn’t kidding when I said Insomniac’s visuals were stunning! Solarstone was absolute perfection in his Purified shirt as I always tell my friends I’m not a trance snob, I’m a purist.  And then, bless his heart, he played Solarcoaster, although I didn’t hear my favorite part with Patricia Arquette saying “You’re so cool, you’re so cool, you’re so cool.” The Seattle Trance Fam flag began waving as the words Vive La Trance rang out. His set was far more progressive than the others I’d seen so far and much smoother, which lent to a calmer crowd taken over by the beauty of his set.  Finally. Finally! I got to see Solarstone, and he did NOT disappoint.

Blasts of Light | Photo Credit Zach Hightower

Vision Stage | Photo Credit Letitia Luu

All the Totems | Photo Credit Michael Nguyen

Having recently gotten into psytrance (I know, I know, I’ve always been a late bloomer), I felt like a kid on Christmas day and Vini Vici did NOT disappoint.  I lost it from the moment they dropped Armin van Buuren’s Great Spirit, a track that always makes me feel like I’m dancing around a fire like the wilderness girl I am.  And it didn’t stop cause they went straight into Free Tibet and Chakra, tracks I’ve been doing my morning runs to cause it’s hard not to keep moving when there’s psytrance on.  Somewhere in there, they threw in a crazy psy mix of Ferry Corsten’s Rock Your Body Rock and then moved right into Chakra. There’s a guitar-like sample in it that reminds me of the dramatic duels in old cowboy movies.  In front of me, I was seeing people’s totems and light up balloons dancing up and down with the beats. They just kept bringing the fire and hit us with even more of my favorite tracks. Astrix’s Adhana followed by a remix of Insomnia, a track that reminds me of high school when I first fell in love with Faithless.  And they kept that train of thought going with a Zombie mashup, in tribute to the passing of Dolores O’Riordan in January. Now, I fucking HATE when DJs talk on the mic, but they asked “Are you ready to join The Tribe?” right before the vocals hit and I cheered along with the crowd. Then they blew my mind with a remix of Dash Berlin, Cerf, Mitiska & Jaren’s Man On the Run, which is one of my favorite tracks of 2017.  I had the absolute pleasure of seeing Mitiska drop it in Seattle earlier in the year. Tying everything back into the beginning of their set, I sang along to Great Spirit and didn’t think I could possibly smile any bigger. But HOT DAMN!!! I couldn’t believe I was hearing the ephemeral violin strings of Bittersweet Symphony laid over the chanting. Vini Vici kept me solidly in the present while reminding me of some of my best high school memories.  

Knowing all of my friends would be back at the mainstage for Markus Schulz, I skedaddled back.  And was met with what I always associate with his sets; big drop after big drop with very little mixing and lots of yelling on the mic.  But his track selections are always crowd pleasers. An Anjuna mashup, followed by the beautiful voice of Sarah McLachlan singing Silence, and the ever-popular Pryda Stay With Me.  Markus was up behind the decks waving his arms around like a conductor at the crowd and they were loving it. Me, not so much. Like I said earlier, I’m a purist. I started in the scene when everything was vinyl, DJs didn’t talk on mics, and the music never stopped because the next DJ had to mix into the last record of the previous DJ’s set.  I’ve been told that my tagline is “You do you” cause I’ve been caught saying it so often, and they’re words I live by. So to each their own! Every time I see Markus, I keep my fingers crossed he’ll play Destiny, cause it’s my favorite track of his. I believe in reincarnation and having lost many people in my life, I know I’ll see them in another life, so this song speaks to an integral part of me.  So it was a beautiful end to my inaugural day at Dreamstate SoCal!

Rolling back in on the second day we were all a bit tired due to an after-party that included an impromptu sunrise hot tub session, but we rallied and were ready to rock it!  We got situated at the mainstage and as I was about to leave, Verhuzka came back with a handful of the light up balloons I saw the day before and hands one to each of the girls. My not so inner child jumped up and down with joy and I instantly attached it to my belt so I could have my hands free.  From there I decided to go where the wind blew me and eventually found myself at the Vision stage with Chris Schweizer vs Heatbeat. Since I don’t know them very well I just let their music come at me without concentrating on the nuances. I didn’t recognize many of the tracks, but damn they brought the fire, and the audience was amped!  They kept everyone going with some hard hitters that had everyone jumping. And I can get down to some metal rock, so when they hit us with some electric guitar riffs, it was like they were uniting genres that just don’t seem to belong together. I LOVED IT!

System F | Photo Credit Vivi Hernandez

My Spirit Animal! | Photo Credit Letitia Luu

More Lasers | Photo Credit Zach Hightower

From there I checked back in with the peeps at mainstage where System F was starting up, and DAMN that was a hard act to leave.  Though I’ve never seen System F, I’ve seen Ferry Corsten at least 5 times and I wasn’t about to miss Ace Ventura. I’d never seen him before and every video I’ve seen of his sets, he gets just as into it as the crowd, and that’s something I’ll always adore about DJs.  Though I have no problem flying solo at shows and have done it plenty, it’s always preferable to have your peeps with you. So I was overjoyed Sacha and Liz decided to come along. The Sequence stage was packed! Everyone seemed to have the same plan we did, and understandably so.  From the moment I got there I was jumping and dancing and that’s when the beautiful fucking balloon went from a boon to a curse. It was bopping me in the face, and whenever I’d spin, it’d wrap around me so I moved it from my back to my sides and nothing helped. Ugh! And then I heard it… That drawn-out Blaaze the Fiiiiire.  Not only the first track I recognized in his set, but one of my hands down psytrance favorites. I’m sure it has something to do with the 21 years I lived in Hawaii and was unwillingly force fed reggae on an almost daily basis. But the thing was, Ace Ventura started mixing it in about two minutes before he fully faded it in, so there I was shrieking “I love this track!!!” as people looked at me a bit weird.  Liz took one for the team and held my balloon while I danced up a storm. And to be there with my girls, all of us getting down to the psytrance, it was definitely one of my favorite moments of the Dreamstate weekend!

We headed back to the mainstage right before Ace Ventura ended cause we knew it’d be packed for Laserface.  When we found our group again, we had about 12 minutes remaining before the lasers were all set up. Verhuzka found me and said she was dying laughing watching me walk through the crowd when I’d first left the group.  I walk quickly and apparently people were ducking and dodging and getting hit in the face by my balloon, completely unbeknownst to me. I cracked up with her just thinking about the image, especially considering I’d just experienced getting bopped in the face by my own balloon while dancing.  OOPSIES!

Finally, the countdown ended and we heard “Prepare yourself for Laserface.”  Well, I was READY! After all the videos I’d watched of the Laserface shows, I was prepared to have my mind blown.  But I was apprehensive cause it was Gareth Emery who panders to the masses, and I was right to be so. He threw down a lot of hard-hitting beats and kept the excitement up, but as I already knew, no visual spectacle will ever make up for a shitty set.  In my opinion, mashups can be really fun if done well and mixed appropriately, but Gareth Emery just dropped them in one after the other with no apparent flow. Daft Punk vs Rage Against The Machine to a Killers mashup to an Arctic Monkeys mashup. Where the rest of the night had just flowed smoothly, the Laserface set made me feel like a marionette being jerked around by a psychotic puppeteer.  Did the majority of the crowd love it? YES. And Emma Hewitt performing live was pretty incredible. Her vocals were on point! However, I’ll never attend another Laserface show. It’s just not for me. But if you love it, YOU DO YOU!

Photo Credit Zach Hightower

Photo Credit Zach Hightower

Photo Credit Zach Hightower

Photo Credit Zach Hightower

What I loved most about Dreamstate SoCal was that despite it being an all trance event, I felt like I got amazing variety skipping between the different stages.  And Insomniac really wasn’t kidding when they said the most important headliner of all is YOU. All of the staff were fun and courteous. I even caught a bunch of them dancing!  So it looks like I’ll be making it an annual tradition, along with my oh so fabulous Seattle friends. Until next year Dreamstate SoCal! Thanks for an unforgettable first Trancegiving!

@DreamstateSoCal #trancegiving @insomniacevents #insomniac Having never been to Dreamstate SoCal, I didn’t really know what to expect other than all trance everything.