#I decided to create my own gem holders...

[the-local-bunny]

Hello again... I forgot to post this. So yeah here you go!!

[observingfantasy]

Hiiii so about your fic

(Which I’m loving !!)

On the how SM should react to waking up with PV,, I would imagine not too well yet. In previous chapters we’ve seen how much he hates being vulnerable in front of others, much less PV. He’d probably see that night as a particularly weak moment where he let himself go? I could see him trying to leave in a panic and hurting himself again. Maybe lashing out at PV when he tries to help him up? Since he’s still in denial to the whole thing. From being able to fly around freely to. Just pain and not even being able to do what -he feels- is the simplest of things. Basically another silver tree. Painful, unmoving, and caged again.

Alsooo, we’ve seen in canon that he doesn’t really trust PV even when he is being genuine. In your fic I can see how SM is slowly warming up to him in a way, but he still seems to distrust him and seems slightly scared (?) of him. PV still shattered his souljam + there’s SM’s fear of PV completely destroying it. As much he feels like he deserves it, it’s still like. Crazy. That’s probably the most precious thing anyone could ever have. It represents who he is, who he was and is the source of his power. (I don’t think PV would seriously go through with destroying the souljam, + in the newest chapter we see that PV genuinely cares for him, but SM doesn’t know that, and I don’t think he’d even believe it yettttt. Maybe due to his own self hatred).

+ another one incoming 😢

Rest of the ask:

More on the souljam thing! I would imagine the power of their souljam keeps the beasts physically healthy *to an extent* due to their immortality. Maybe they’re harder to harm and quicker to heal? Which in turn would make their fear of the punishment of the silver tree make even greater, and why they’d rather anything else than that. Even death. (Like Prometheus from Greek mythology. He heals fast enough that everyday his liver is pecked out by an eagle, but also not fast enough to be free of pain, ever). Get me? Pretty awful, no matter how much they deserved it. So with his souljam shattered, SM’s already fragile body is even weaker. I’m wondering if it could be why he’s in so much pain, and why no matter what PV tries, he won’t be able to rid him of his pain? Bc as long as the souljam remains broken, it acts as a perpetual wound? Also. Wow PV. Now SM can’t even use his power to float like before. Not just to move around, but to relieve himself of the pain of standing on his legs. Smh it’s like if I took someone’s mobility aid and threw it off a cliff. And also exploded their painkillers. That they need. Like WHAT. // he didn’t do it on purpose and ik he felt he needed to shatter the souljam to keep cookies safe or whatever but still rrghhhh. Specially considering SM’s shown to seriously struggle with being cooped up, and hates the idea of being dependent on others. Now he can’t even go get some fresh air alone💔. (Disclaimerrrr. I know people with mobility issues can be very much independent with the right support! I’m just trying to see this on smilk’s perspective)

First of all: Thank you for your thoughts on Shadow Milk's behavior in the next chapter.😘

I've decided on how the next chapter goes now, with all the input from you guys, but I of course won't spoiler you here.🫣

Alright, and with that I'm going to ramble about the Soul Jams for a bit:😁

In my headcanon the witches created the Soul Jams and the Virtues at the same time. As one being. Originally, these gems were never meant to belong to anyone else, they were inseparable linked to their original holders, which is why the Beasts have troubles accepting that half of them belong to the ancients now.

It's also the reason why no one knows what will happen to the Beasts should the Soul Jams really be destroyed for good. (And I'm deliberately leaving that unknown. Not even I know, because it has never happened and will never happen.)

So yes, the shattering of his Soul Jam is causing Smilk constant pain, even if it's usually not severe pain. His legs hurt worse most of the time, and the "Soul Pain" is also linked to his emotions. (Which is why it hurts worse when he is panicked, feels guild or self-loathing.)

Also, cracking or even shattering a Soul Jam didn't happen the first time here. White Lily's, Hollyberry's and even Pure Vanilla's own Soul Jams were cracked or even shattered before (in the canon story). And since PV didn't feel any pain while his own was damaged, only when it was broken, he doesn't even know yet that he caused Shadow Milk constant, soul-deep pain. He's gonna find out some day, though...😈

Pure Vanilla of course knows that he hurt Shadow Milk, though. But both of them also know that there was literally no other way. (So many eyes on them, so many lives on the line) Shadow Milk doesn't even blame PV or resent him for the choice he made. It's an undeserved mercy in his eyes that he's free at all, and he doesn't regret the price he paid for that either.

Smilk's internalized guild and self-hatred go deep.

These are of course all just my personal headcanons and interpretations specifically for my fic "The Price of Deceit". I think my Shadow Milk is pretty OOC at this point, and I'm not claiming that any of this is canon in any way.🥰🤗

So with that: Thank you for your ask and your input anon, I hope this answers some of the questions you had.😘

💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙

[desaulniers-co]

I’m going to talk a bit about Shibusawa’s ability and what it says about Fyodor’s ability. Since Fyodor’s ability currently isn’t fully known and Shibusawa’s ability possibly reveals a lot about it.

(If you do not want to read my explanations about Shibusawa’s ability and want to skip directly to Fyodor’s ability, scroll to the ‘crime and punishment’ image. Tough I recommend reading the explanations)

So, from what we know in dead Apple, there’s a specific way abilities manifested when Shibusawa’s fog effected them. There’s two types of ones here. Normal abilities, and ‘physical�� abilities.

For normal abilities, manifestation takes the form of the persons ‘silhouette’ or shadow of the person because they don’t have their own form to take. They become a copy of their holder because they are part of them. They don’t really exist on their own outside of the user. So they still reflect what they are a part of.

By physical ability, I mean ones like Akutagawa, Mori, Kyōka, and Atsushi, who all have specific physical forms already. And their manifestations from Shibusawa’s ability take that form. These abilities that are summoned or are actual things already have a form. So they don’t become the shadow or ‘spirit’ of the ability, they become what the ability normally is. Part of this may be because the abilities have a “mind” of their own to an extent. Demon snow does things to care for Kyōka, and she couldn’t control it. Atsushi couldn’t control the Tiger and didn’t remember time as it, showing them as sort of ‘separate’ beings that are also one, including during the movie. Rashomon is ‘hungry’ and seems to have at least some level of sentence. Elise is clearly her entire own person, often arguing with Mori.

These ‘physical’ abilities keep the general same appearance as always in their manifestation, only they gain a gem on their head.

Now, why does the gem, the ability itself seemingly, appear on the head? I believe they’re placed in the head where the “brain” or “central” would be. Where the ability would, supposedly, be kept and controlled. In the mind.

So all abilities have their gem on their head, and take the form of their user if they don’t have their own physical form.

That is

Except Fyodor.

As you can see, Fyodor’s ability manifestation does not look like the normal manifestations. The skin is the same color as usual, the eyes are not glowing, and he has facial features. What is more resembles is the physical abilities. Keeping the exact same appearance, just gaining a gem on their body.

The gem is not located on the forehead. It’s located on his hand. Gems are assumed to be placed on the central ‘control’ spot of the ability, which is why the others are located on the head. Implying that the ‘brain’ or control for this ability is not in his mind, but in his hands. In his touch.

These both seem like small differences chosen for the appearance of the scene. But I believe they imply much more and could explain the mystery of his ability.

Fyodor kills someone with bare contact. His morals and beliefs are a large part of his character as well. Morals and beliefs, and people being killed based on what one believed about them, is also a large theme in the actual Crime and Punishment. (I cannot speak too much on the book, I’m still reading it currently)

I believe his ability and himself are not the same. His ability is not something he can control. It is a ‘conscious’ thing, a physical ability, just like ones such as Elise and Demon Snow. The best way to explain this is the quote the image is from.

The true Fyodor says, “I am crime.��

This means he is the law, he determines what is a crime. A judgment is made based on his morals and beliefs, a set of rules he has created and put into place.

The ability says, “I am punishment.“

This means, literally, the punishment. The consequence that is given based on what the law decides for the crime. The punisher has to give the punishment deemed fair based on if the law has convicted them.

The Punishment, death, will be cast on someone based on what the law, Fyodor’s morals and beliefs, say about their Crimes.

The ability takes punishment into its own hands. When Fyodor comes into contact with someone, a quick judgment is made based on whether he interprets them as a criminal or ‘sinner’ without his knowing or intention. The ability does it for him. Based on that quick judgment from his morals, he decides if the person will be killed or spared. That’s why some die by his hand, such as Karma, and others don’t, such as Nikolai.

This is why it is a ‘physical’ ability. It has its own consciousness, choosing to punish or spare a person without Fyodor’s conscious thought of it. He made the rules, the set of morals a person would be judged with, the crimes. But he does not actively decide if one is to be punished for them or not.

Crime and punishment go hand in hand. But they are not the same. They effect each other, but one can not have total control of the other. This is how I perceive Fyodor’s ability.

Please keep in mind this is all theory/hc based on a single scene, don’t take it for fact!! I am happy to further discuss with people and hear others theories or ideas :))

[mama-m1na]

Diamond Days: Prologue

~~~0~~~

Diamonds are a very valuable gem made from carbon. They form by being put under intense heat as well as tons and tons of pressure for about three billion years.

Due to their scarcity, luster, and hardness diamonds became very valuable amongst humans; however, there was another reason why diamonds were valuable to humans.

When certain cuts of the gem were able to resonate with the souls of certain humans, the organic beings were able to undergo a temporary transformation that enhanced their physical and magical abilities.

With this new discovery, many scoured the earth for the precious gem and many succeeded; however, not all of them had the purest of intentions.

Finding that their siblings were being abused, four diamonds rose to hunt and destroy the others, afterall the only thing capable of shattering a diamond is another diamond.

Red Diamond had the power to enhance their own body as well as those of others which was used to increase the attack power of their armies.

Blue Diamond had the power to tear holes in the fabric of reality. They created portals at their disposal during the war.

Green Diamond had the power to manipulate which was used to manipulate the battlefield to their favor and in some cases they could even manipulate the enemy directly.

The final diamond in this power trio was Purple Diamond. The largest and oldest of the three had a unique power. While all diamonds had the power to destroy, Purple Diamond was gifted with the power of creation, which they used to create gems that could resonate with the souls of their allies; however, they could never create a diamond. That power was beyond the ggem.

Soon enough this class of elite gems fell until only the four diamonds remained. New diamonds would be created in the future; however, none would possess any power like those of the Four Deities of Rebellion.

As the human holders of the gems passed on, they were passed down through history, guarded so no one could receive such powers again.

Until the diamonds were being transported across the Sea of Thieves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~An old man stood in the Captain’s Quarters of a large, heavily guarded, ship. It was armed with hundreds of soldiers all guarding four precious gems.

“Captain, something’s been spotted off the port bow!” exclaimed a man as the door burst open.

“Was it a ship from that damned empire?! Or from Amonlogia?” the captain asked as he stood in a panic, “Is it pirates?!”

“Uh no, Sir, we aren’t sure what it is,” the man replied earning a glare from the captain as he walked out the door to see with his own eyes.

As he made it to the bow, the group of people gathered had made a path for the captain as one man said, “It’s a child, Sir.”

Floating face up in the sand was an unconscious little girl with the whiteness of her nightgown making her stand out from the tan sand around her.

The eyes of the captain softened as he said, “Well, fish her out of there! What are you just standing around for?”

“Yes, Sir!” many said as they worked to get the child out of the sea and on the ship where they were all relieved to find the child was alive.

It took a few hours but soon enough the child woke up and when this happened the captain walked over immediately.

“Hello, Child,” he greeted as the child smiled up at him.

She had long, silky hair the color of a raven, golden brown skin and bright brown irises littered with golden flecks.

“Hello!” she chirped before looking around in confusion, “Where am I, Sir?”

“You’re on the Xilan, My Dear,” the man chuckled as the girl’s eyes lit up.

“That’s Reubian, right?” she asked, cheering as the captain nodded.

“Sir, why is there so many people with guns here?” she asked after a few minutes as her smile became slightly smaller.

“Well, we are guarding something very precious.”

“Oh, like treasure and jewels?” beamed the girl as she sprang up.

“Ye-” “Like four diamonds?” the ravenette asked as the male’s expression hardened.

“How did you know that?” he asked, reaching for his hip as the child’s smile turned into a knowing smirk.

“I have my ways… Captain.”

Just then a male burst through the door as an explosion was heard from the outside; however, within split second both he and the captain were on the ground, wide eyed, and unable to move as the child stood before them.

“You’re a monster!” spat the captain as he spotted the tattoo on the child.

In black ink on the girl’s middle finger was a diamond split by an even cross, the mark of one of the many pirate gangs.

“I’m from Nushistan so you’re not far off, but remember, Captain, you’re the one that decided to sail on the Sea of Thieves,” she replied, letting out a laugh as she exited the room.

As she ran past fire, and bodies of soldiers the child made her way up to the Captain’s Quarters to find a woman with white hair stuffing a box into a white sack with a smirk on her face, a rip on her shirt revealing the tattoo of a rival pirate gang.

“Wow, Lisa, I knew I didn’t like you for a reason,” the ravenette chirped with crazed eyes, “But for you to be a spy fills me with joy in the fact I can openly end your life without punishment now.”

“Same goes for you, Brat,” spat the woman as she pulled out a flint lock pistol and aimed at the child, “But I know for a fact you’re the one who’s going to be dying.”

“Really? Fof, you keally ake xupzek htan I houvth.”

Bang! Thud!

A streak of blood dripped down the child’s cheek as she looked down at the body of the woman which had iron needles sticking out of her head and neck.

With a bright smile she picked up the box and opened it to see four, glimmering diamonds.

~~~Fin. Prologue~~~

[dareplayio]

In old days, we often were mesmerized by the stories our grand parents narrate to us. NFT is trying to revive that age-old tradition of storytelling. Storytelling NFTs paving the way for the community members to become involved in the creative aspects of their communities. Let's check out Top 9 Storytelling NFTs that are dominating the NFT space and decide what project would be a next gem. 1/n World's first #storytelling NFT, Bored and Dangerous was started by @jenkinsthevalet . This storytelling collection was created by 3,000 genius members of ‘The Writers’ Room’. The NFT books requires verification of wallets via @tokenproof . 2/n OpenSea featured- @pudypenguins was started by early 20's kids. Started w airdrop of eggs to the holders IP was bought off by Lucas and new Team, that is when this project had its real kickstart. @joeymooose goes “I am my Penguin and my Penguin is me.” -added the fuel. 3/n Developments: Partnership with Shopify and Kristopher Kites Introduction of #Soulbound token, PenguPins Partnership with PMI toys OpenSea featured @pudypenguins in its #storytellingNFT spotlight 4/n @azurbala is a fantasy-based work and is related to Bored and Dangerous. Bored & Dangerous' holders can burn their NFTs in exchange for an Azur Root (a ticket redeem the PFP NFT). Team Azubala has postponed the release of PFP after community feedbacks. 5/n @RENGA_inc is a vastly different storytelling NFT collection. Started by @DirtyRobotWorks , it is a handcrafted collection of 10,000 characters influenced by Japanese comic storylines like Manga & Anime @OpenSea reads: “RENGA is the art of storytelling.” [Source : Opensea] 6/n @WoodiesOfficial , a web3 storyteller envisions a global community dedicated to experiencing and preserving the outdoors. First step towards their vision is the new short film, ‘Woodies Origin.’ Team offered free mint scenes to celebrate launch event. 7/n The Woodies, family-friendly, story-driven #artwork and themes supporting nature and conservation funded a Million Tree Pledge, donating over $250,000 to Trees for the Future, that is 20% of the fees paid for minting. 8/n @KitaroNFT with a collection of 7,777 storytelling NFTs depicts a story about an ancient creature once discovered in Tokyo, Japan back in 1600 B.C. The Chapter 1: "The Enchanted Forest" is out and sold out. 9/n @storyverse_xyz is a Web3 no-code #game publishing platform that allows you to create & sell your own Storytelling NFT. Featured in Opensea's Spotlight 10/n Created by Justin Waldron, Michael Carter and Patrick Chapman, #Storyverse offers communities, tools, and tokens work together to fuel a new community-driven character economy. Check out cool video on How to bring your PFP to life. 11/n OpenSea reads, "@cypherchk is a 10,000 Faceless Coder Chicks saving the world through code & flowers" Works on woman empowerment. Proud supporter of #MalalaFund & #CodeToInspire Featured in Opensea's Spotlight. 12/n CoolMan's Universe @CoolmanUniverse , created by @coolcoffeedan is a collection of 10,000 #Speshies surfing through the Universe with their intergalactic sidekicks. Featured in #Opensea 's Spotlight 13/n In partnership with award winning animation studio @CartunaTV Coolman's Universe released its full length, multi episode animated series starring Spesh & Babies. 14/n With the buzz around storytelling NFTs. we can opt that storytelling NFTs are here to stay. It will act as a bridge between #Web2 #Contentcreators and #Web3 thus boosting the Web3 ecosystem. #dareplay #storytellingNFT #web3 #BuildWeb3 #NFTs #NFT That's a wrap.💊 ✌️Comment below your Favorite #StorytellingNFT & show your support. 1. Follow @dareplaygamefi & @Maisnam_Ronan 2. Join our discord: 2. Like & RT to share the below tweet

[alchemagick]

Discussion Time: Witchy Tools

When I first started my path as a witch, I did what I think a lot of beginner witches out there do... I spent way too much money on extremely overpriced items that appeared to be necessary witchy tools and to this day haven’t used nearly half of them. I have a few theories as to why we do this, and I’m sure these are collective beliefs.

1. We’re too excited to start in on witchy things to slow down and really research the things that might be useful to us

2. We’re looking for that Aesthetic™ that only certain materials have

3. We had yet to realize that magick is literally all around us, and we have the capability of making anything magickal with the right intent

Sounding familiar? If you’re new to witchcraft or are still stuck in this vicious cycle of spending way too much on items you probably won’t use in your craft, then hopefully these tips will be useful to you.

Tips for gathering materials

🕯️ Do your research - No seriously. Before you decide you want/need an item for your practice, look into why you want it and how you’ll be using it. How does it fit into your beliefs? What will you gain from using it? Is it readily available to you? What might be used as a substitute and are you comfortable using a substitute?

🕯️ Look past the aesthetic - This is what really got me. I bought a lot of items simply because they looked witchy, only to go home and realize I already had an item similar sans witchy vibe. If you find this to be the case, I urge you to use the items you already have and make them magickal. Charge the heck out of them with energy, crystals, moonlight, sunlight, etc. Paint or color them in some way to fit your aesthetic needs.

🕯️ Search around to see if you can get it cheaper - Don’t be afraid to be thrifty. If you’re buying an item online especially, search other sites and other shops to see if you can get an item for less money. A little research can be the difference between a $50 cauldron and a $20 one.

🕯️ Utilize the world around you - Nature has so much to offer us. Not only will you be able to find tools for witchcraft by taking a walk in nature, but it’s a good way to balance yourself and soak up the earth’s lovely vibes. Leaves, sticks, rocks, nuts, bones (careful with that one), etc... You never know what you might find to use in your craft.

🕯️ Invest in making your own items - This can get a little pricey to begin with, but in the long run, homemade items (if budgeted correctly) can save you a lot of money. I invested nearly $100 on natural items like oils and such and Castile soap to make my own body/face/hair/hand soaps a little over half a year ago. In the time since, I’ve only spent $15 on another bottle of Castile soap and I’m still using up my original bottle. Investing for the win.

Places to find items for cheap

Candles/Wax Melters

🕯️ Dollar Store - They have 6 packs of emergency candles for a dollar. They last quite a while and fit into any regular-sized stick candle holder. 🕯️ Dollar Store - You can get 112 tealight candles for $7 USD. At Target you can get 100 for $6.29 USD in white or ivory. If you want different colored candles, buy the white ones, melt them down over a flat electric stove and add a drop or two of food coloring then mix the color around with a toothpick. You could also add a drop of essential oils or herbs for a magick boost. Be careful not to burn yourself! 🕯️ Dollar Store - Wax melters are a dollar, and they are super cute and fit almost anywhere. I don’t suggest getting their scented wax cubes because they are pumped full of chemicals. The only reason I would say to get one package of their wax cubes is to throw out the wax and use the container as a mold to make your own wax cubes. 🕯️ Michaels - Paraffin wax is $27.99 for 9lbs., $19.99 for 4lbs., and $6.99 for 1lbs. Obviously 9lbs is your best deal, but these are overall what I have found to be the cheapest prices around that you can buy in store without having to buy online and pay shipping. 🕯️ Michaels - This is pretty much the only place I know of to get candle wicks for a relatively good price. It is possible to get candle wicks from Amazon for super cheap, I’m just lazy and would rather go to the store and pick up my items that day.

Herbs

🕯️ Fred Meyer - For those of you that know what this is (it’s mostly a West Coast thing, part of the Kroger company so if you look up the Kroger company equivalent nearest you I’m sure they’ll have something similar to this), Fred Meyer has been a life saver for me. They have an organic/natural section where, at most locations, you can buy herbs and other food items in bulk. They will have things like dried fruits, assorted seeds and nuts, rosemary, basil, clove, etc. You can also find aloe vera gel in the natural aisles, along with things like activated charcoal and other supplements in the natural vitamins section. There’s so much down these aisles that can be used for witchcraft that it really has to be experienced in person. No description will do this section of Fred Meyer any justice. 🕯️ Your back yard - Okay, obviously you’ll have to initially buy the plant/seeds in order to grow it, but growing your own herbs is so fulfilling. Plus you’ll be able to charge those little plant babies with other forms of magick while they grow. 🕯️ Your community - Take some time getting to know your surroundings. What plants are native to your area? Which ones are safe to use in your craft? Needled trees grow in abundance in my area along with moss and other temperate plants. Consider altering your style to lean toward what is freely available to you. 🕯️ Antique stores - Some antique stores will have full lavender, stem and all, in bundles that you can buy for relatively cheap. I love going to antique stores because I can usually find other treasures like figurines or metal boxes to store items in. Recently my grandmother went to an antique store and found a whole set of witchcraft items for only $50. There was a cauldron which I knew to be priced around $25-30, a tapestry made of thick cloth that would have been at least $20, an assortment of around 20 spell candles of all different colors, a copper bowl with a triple moon engraving, a vintage tarot deck and a beautiful beaded green tarot bag that they came in. For $50. It was an amazing deal.

Crystals

🕯️ Etsy - TheCornerCrystal; I love this shop. Everything is such a great price and the shop owner is so sweet! I sent a thank you message after my purchase and within 12 hours I had heard back from them and they just had the nicest things to say. I highly recommend checking out what this shop has to offer. 🕯️ Gem shows - Here in the Seattle area there are periodic gem shows where you can find different crystals and stones at awesome prices. I’ve never personally been (yet), but I know quite a few people who only have good things to say about these events.

Miscellaneous Items

🕯️ Joann Fabrics - If you have a sewing machine at your dispense and know how to sew in a straight line, I highly suggest going to Joann Fabrics and searching through the really cheap fabrics to make your own altar cloths/tarot bags/sachets/etc. It is so fulfilling to make these items yourself and use the finished product. 🕯️ Micheals - Jewelry wire is super cheap here. You can use it to create necklace pendants out of your crystals and stones. Don’t forget to thumb up those YouTube tutorials!

[janethepegasus]

BMC Miraculous Ladybug AU RP Thing: Miraculous Festival

An RP thing me and @pika-ace did related to the BMC Miraculous Ladybug AU where New Jersey creates a festival dedicated to the Miraculous Armada and our Miraculous Fam gets to see it as themselves!

(The Miraculous Fam walk around the festival, looking at everything)

Christine: There’s so much stuff!! I can’t decide what to do first!! :Dc

Post: Me neither! So many things to do!! :Dc

Rich: I wanna eat ALL the food!! >:3 Sebastian: Me too!!

Jeremy: I wanna eat ALL of the sweets! >:3 Max: Not if i eat them first! >:/

Adri: *looks at a stand* GUYS. THERE ARE PLUSHIES 8^D

Post: *gasp* PLUSHIES?! 8D

(Adri points and there are multiple booths carrying plushies of the entire Miraculous Armada)

Post: *GASP* PLUSHIE VERSIONS OF US!!! 8DDDDD

Chloe: Ooooh myyyy gooooood 8Oc *picks up a plushie of Coral Wave*

Jordan: *picks up a plushie of Timber Wolf* Awww! I look so cute as a plushie! X3c

Lin: *looks at Dasher plushie* I know what I’m getting my boys X3

Post: Hey dad! *points at the Owl Plushie* It's you! X3c

Joe: *picks it up* This is remarkable! The resemblance is uncanny!

Romeo: *looks at a Ace and Swan plushies, both side by side* Aww, they know us so well! X3

Christine: *hugs a Papillion plushie* Oh my god, wrap them up, I’ll take twenty!! X3c

Post: I want one of everyone! :D Joe: *stares at the plushie armada* ......I am keeping these for the rest of my immortal life.

Sebastian: *picks up Leo, Jade, and Atlantic plushies* I’m getting these! Now I’ll always be with my bros and our boy! X3

Philip: *picks up Scarlet plush* Don't forget about yourself! X3c

Hayden: *holds up Atlantic plushie* Look at that Maxie, they got your permanent frown PERFECT XD

Max: Shut it! >:(

Adri: *nuzzles Stag plushie* Such cuties!!!

Adri: *holds up Cloudy plushie* Oh my GOOOOOD it's so SOOOOOFT!!! 8^D

Eric: *looks over Cyber plushie* The detail is incredible! I think I may just buy a few myself

Jordan: Me too! I wanna a whole pack of myself! X3c

Brooke: *holding Natura plush* Oh my god they even got the cape right!! This is so cool!!

Tobias: *holds up Draco plush* Oh my goodness.....this.....this is absolutely adorable! :D

Vendor: Heh...I take it you want to buy some? Jake: We’ll take two of everything O_O (A few moments later, they all walk away with their desired plushies in bags) Post: *holding the biggest bag* Worth it.

Joe: *holding a bag with one of everything* Agreed. OwO

(They move to other booths and Jeremy and Eric find a little stand with handmade Miraculous themed charms and keychains) Jeremy: *picks up a Leo charm* I’m feeling SO narcissistic right now 83

Eric: *picks up a Cyber keychain* ....Is it wrong that i kinda feel the same way? :3c

Rich: *pops up having just bought some Tiger Eye ears* Dude, after all the akuma’s we’ve fought, I say we deserve to indulge our own fame X3

Jake: *holding a Pacific Jaws t-shirt* Yeah! We're like celebs in our city! X3

(Sebastian runs up with a red slushee) Sebastian: We’re SLUSHEE FLAVORS!! There’s Scarlett Panda Cherry, Jade Apple, and Atlantic blue raspberry!! This is the best day EVER!!

Jake: OOOOOH i wanna try!! :D

Michael: Oh my god PLEASE tell me there’s food named after us!! (They run off)

Jeremy: Heh, so much stuff dedicated to us! It's kinda overwhelming! X3

Eric: Indeed. :)

(They walk for a bit) Jeremy: Holy SHIT, Eric; CYBER SHOCK MOUNTAIN DEW!! Zip: *peeks out of Eric's pocket* O_O

Eric: Wait, WHAT?! O_O

(Jeremy drags him over to a food cart and points it out and looks at the other food) Jeremy: Holy shit, Leo King's Bacon Bar-BQ chicken?! Leo: *peeks out* O_O

Eric: Holy crap... O_O Jeremy: They know us well O_O

(They order some food and sit down at a picnic table to eat, Eric letting Zip drink some mountain dew and Jeremy giving Leo little pieces of bacon from the chicken) Eric: They really went all out with this...

Jeremy: Hell yeah they did!

Jeremy: Now I'm REALLY looking forward to these ceremonies they have planned

Eric: Yeah, if they can do all of this for all of us in general, who knows what they got planned for the both of us?

(Christine, Chloe, and Brooke join them at the table, eating ice cream cones) Christine: We're ICE CREAM FLAVORS TOO!!

Jeremy: Really?! O_O

Brooke: Yep! I got Natura's Nutmeg! It's SUPER sweet!

Jeremy: Oooh! :0c

Christine: Yeah! I got Papillion Peach! Try saying THAT five times fast! XD Chloe: And I got Coral Coconut Pineapple; it tastes like the tropics, no joke!

Jeremy: Fitting how you can use your shell as a surfboard! XD

Chloe: Right??

Christine: What’cha got there?

Jeremy: Leo King Bar-BQ chicken and Red Hound punch; and Eric got Cyber Shock mountain dew and, get this, Timber Wolf tenders XD

Christine: Ooooh! XD

Eric: There's so much alliteration...

Chloe: Makes sense he orders something named after his husband! X3c

(Eric blushes)

Jeremy: Heh heh! X3c

Christine: I can't wait to see what else they have!

Brooke: Me too!

(Later on...)

(Jeremy and Eric walk through the festival until they see a booth filled with Miraculous related stuff from other countries)

Jeremy: Whoa whoa whoa hold the fuck up...INTERNATIONAL STUFF???? People in other countries know us this well????

Eric: Apparently! 0_0 (They look around the booth until something caught their attention, a Pikachu plushie wearing a Cyber Shock costume, and an Eevee plushie wearing a Leo King costume)

Jeremy: Oooooooh myyyyyyyyy gooooooooood 8Dc

Eric: O_O *picks up the Pikachu plush* ......I want this. 83c

Jeremy: *picks up Eevee plush* You read my mind. *sends a quick text to Post* Japan's the freaking BEST

(Meanwhile with Post and Joe, Post gets Jeremy’s text)

Post: 8Dc Jeremy said he found more plushies!!

Joe: He did?

Post: Yeah, let's go see what they are!! (They travel to the booth)

(Eventually Post and Joe meet up with Jeremy and Eric)

(Eric and Jeremy have already bought their plushies) Jeremy: Check THIS out!! *shows the plushies*

Post: 8Dc SOOOOO CUUUUTE!!!

Joe: Aaaaaand I think we've broken him XD

Jeremy: Yep! X3 Post: JUST LOOK AT THEM!!! THEY’RE SOOOO CUUUUTE!!!!! 8DDDDDDD

Joe: Well then hurry and buy them, you're clearly already attached XD

Post: YES!!! 8Dc

(Post starts buying the plushies) Joe: *looks at the other objects* I suppose our travels to find the Mythical Miraculous spread quite far

Eric: Indeed. Jeremy: Yeah, there’s Miraculous stuff from all the countries we went to, plus a few more! *gestures a few Miraculous items from places like Mexico and such*

Joe: This is something I never thought I would experience in my lifetime

Jeremy: And yet, here we are! The whole world appreciating everything that we do as heroes! :)

Joe: Yes, and possibly in the best way possible; nothing too flashy, but still full of heart and appreciation

Jeremy: Yep!

Eric: Let's see what else they have. *they head off*

(They wonder around the festival, until they see Jordan, Jane, and Kirsty hanging around a booth filled with jewelry and gemstones)

Eric: Why am I not surprised? :)

(They approach the booth, where Jordan is telling Jane what kind of gemstones are there in the booth)

Jeremy: Whatcha doin?

Jordan: Oh! Just teaching Jane about gemstones, that’s all! Jane: Yeah, I kinda want to have a collection of all known Gemstones! :3c

Kirsty: Each one here represents a Miraculous holder!

Joe: Oh really? Jane: Yeah! Like Sunstone represents Leo King, and Moonstone represents Cyber Shock!

Eric: Of course... (Jeremy and Post go over to look)

(Post looks around and spots a Biggs Jasper) Post: Hey dad, I think that one is you! *points at the Biggs Jasper*

Joe: Oh really?

Post: Yeah! It's brown! Like Wise Owl! :D

Jeremy: Which one are you, Post?

Post: Ummm.... *looks around and spots a Selenite* That one!

Kirsty: Oooh pretty !

Post: Yeah, it is pretty! <3

Kirsty: I’m gonna get Timber’s gem! He IS still my favorite :3c

Jane: Same with Cyber's gem! :3c

Eric: *jokingly* Why didn’t you use moonstone for my ring? Jordan: *smirks* Cause Azurite matches your eyes, peach ;)

(Eric blushes)

Jeremy: Get a room you two X3c

Jordan and Eric: HEY! >:(

(They move on to the next booth a see an array of jelly lollipops that have all been decorated and crafted to look like the Miraculous Armada) Jeremy: ...I have never wanted to eat myself more than I have now... :Oc

Post: Me too! :Dc

Joe: Again, the detail! These people must have worked for days!

Eric: Indeed *to Joe* You're really impressed by all of this Miraculous stuff, aren't you? :3c

Joe: Well, I’ve never seen people put in this much effort to create such lovely art like this! The Miraculous Holders have always been in the shadows; this is the first time they’ve ever been in the limelight

Eric: Yes, and it feels great knowing so many people appreciate what we do.

Jordan: Sure does

Jeremy: *stares at the Leo King Jelly Lollipop* I will eat you me OwO

Eric: We are all going to be broke by the time this festival is over

Jordan: Yeah, soon ALL of our homes would be filled to the BRIM with Miraculous stuff! XD

[peonyrice]

20 Things to do & love about Hong Kong right now

What’s not to love about Hong Kong? Our designer Pauline, shares her top 20.

What inspires you in Hong Kong?

So so much, daily sightings – heritage buildings, architecture and Art, HK is a very abundant place for art. From street art and random sightings in old neighborhoods to discovering a whole range of local independent artists who work in different mediums. And of course the international art scene that is also present here. If you need a change of scenery you can jump in a cab or bus and you are on the beach in half hour.

A lot is getting lost here in the way of the the old Hong Kong as we know it – neon signs, buildings, makers, crafts so it’s incredible if we are lucky enough to see it even for a moment, so it’s important to me to get a sense of that now. 

1.     Favorite place in Hong Kong?

So so many – endless list. I am in love with this city.  Being so close to the outdoors with an unexpected view of the mountains, city and sea all together in a perfect light. Lush Nature sitting right next to the density of high rise. That’s pretty unique. Walking distance too.

2.     Favorite food?

Has to be discovering traditional Cantonese and ethnic foods that remind me of being an immigrant Chinese with a childhood in England not really knowing where they came from. Love seeing that little old lady or man selling something homemade -  Hakka bun or dumpling or a village shop selling local honey in a  pop bottle. Happy local bites have managed to stay and most of it is quite healthy. You feel the love that went into making it.

My favorite area for this is Sham Shui Po – an older district – total gem sitting next to the hole in the wall food spots with it’s electronics, secondhand markets and off course fabrics. In contrast there’s lots of cool new places also popping up. Art & Coffee. Interesting to see how neighborhoods are changing in this new era. Another place worth a mention - is Dignity Kitchen - a Singaporean social enterprise that serves up yummy Singaporean food housed in a renewed heritage building at 618 Shanghai street -  i love their Pandan cake!

3.      Favorite Drink

Freshly squeezed sugarcane juice. Nothing beats the thirst but this. Better than any bubble tea. Bring your own container or bottle even better. Look out for the few drink vendors selling it and the traditional Chinese herbal teas which are great for cooling and keeping your body heat in check during the summer months. My fav spot is Kung Lee Sugarcane Store on Hollywood road, Central, intersection near Lyndhurst. It’s a family business spanning a few generations.

4.     Favorite mode of transport

Has to be the Star Ferry, 5 minutes on that after a long day – just takes every thing away. It’s very therapeutic. That really hasn’t changed for me since the early mid 90’s traveling here for work.

5.     Favorite place to shop

More of a browser than a shopper these days. I have everything I need. Love all the antique shops along Hollywood road in my neighborhood with all their unique offerings. Unfortunately many are no longer operating since this tough year. I look out for special exhibitions to learn more about Chinese antiques. My fascination with craftsmanship done the old way. There’s always little surprises down the side streets. Love all the nostalgic & random stuff. Sometimes there’s a few treasures to be found.

6.     Favorite HK artist

I love dimension and have an obsession with typography and textured works. I have been quite intrigued by the local artist Michell Lie and her Chinese brushwork inspired pieces mixed with some contemporary elements. There’s a beautiful fluidness in her work that i can just get lost in for a short while. Currently exploring ceramic artists in the city.

7.     Favorite place to explore

Old industrial neighborhoods around HK – the Mills are fantastic – repurposed textile mill now focusing on the history of HK textiles, sustainability, supporting local projects. Such a great place to hang with it’s shops, exhibitions and museum.

8.     Favorite temple in HK

The Chi Lin nunnery in Diamond Hill, very different from the other traditional temples you see in South China, I feel very calm when I am here and it’s not far to get to. If you need a couple of hours out. It’s perfect and there’s a lovely landscape oriental garden next to it too. For a further out trip– Tsz shan Monastery is quite special and a must .

9.     Favorite sighting

Often you will see parts of movies or TV series being shot. People don’t really bat an eyelid to it. It’s great to see a part of the neighborhood lit up with lights, cameras and crew and you know there’s some action going down.

10.  Favorite place that doesn’t feel like HK

Some of the Hikes –Cape d'aguilar, Cape Collison, some of the further out little islands that you can only access by boat. The landscape and vegetation here is so diverse.

11.  Favorite night time spot

Has to be the peak – but anywhere with a clear night view of the Harbor I am happy with. A sunset hike via the many paths to the peak is perfect way to soak in the city.

12.  Favorite fashion discoveries

PoHo neighborhood has lots of small design boutiques, some fashion, lifestyle and accessories. PMQ is another fab little area full of small boutiques and workshops. Love checking out the side streets in Central too and some of the other districts. The side alleys are the best places to discover something. Mongkok behind the ladies markets has a few vintage stores i love rummaging around in too.

13.  Favorite Lifestyle store

Still has to be G.O.D .. love all the little nuances and humor in the heritage inspired products.  Small items that are perfect memories of HK.

14.  Favorite season in HK

September on wards till March. Weather’s cooler and you can get out to do more hikes…and not turn up in places sweaty. Many people do not realize HK has seasons, complete contrast to other 4 season countries as winter here is like 1 month of 12 degrees and people running around in Puffas.

15.  What do you love most about HK

Convenience. This city was built on that. I haven’t had to drive since I left the UK more than 20 years ago. Most places can be walk-able, if not jump on the MTR which is super clean and efficient or bus or grab a taxi. Most places are 15 mins to under 2 hours away. You can be in 3-4 places a day if you plan right. Shops in some districts are open late 7 days a week. It’s really a city that never sleeps. …. And I am never too far from seeing water.

16.  Favorite day trip

Jumping on a ferry to one of many the islands – 30 minutes and you would have landed elsewhere. Can’t decide which I love better.. have so much to discover still on Lantau, Cheung Chau, Lamma, or go inland to the islands around Plover Cove. You can never get enough sunsets.

17. Favorite Smell

Can’t decide if it’s the Kowloon or Hong Kong Candle created by BE Candle and Tiny island maps. But I love both for a different daily mood and the Terrazzo holder.. all locally made. Love that.

credit:tinyislandmaps

18.  Current favorite hang out place.

Central market just finally finished get renewed. It was a 4th generation building old modern style market that first came about in the 1850’s . Super cool with a well curated bunch of shops and food hangouts.

19.  Favorite thing to do in HK

Eat, hang out with friends, visit a museum, see an exhibition somewhere hidden. Just be inspired.

20. Favorite place to decompress?

My 24/7 Gym or has to be home. After all the running around - the new way of working and the past pandemic year made me appreciate being still and chill.

[jasonblack]

Robert “ÆOLUS” Meyers and The Forgotten Beginnings of Hawaiian New Age

Since 2010, Aloha Got Soul has made waves by mining Hawaii’s undiscovered musical past. With its first two LP releases, the Honolulu-based rare soul label run by Roger Bong has reissued forgotten gems like Mike Lundy’s 1980 funk-soul album, The Rhythm of Life and Aura’s self-titled disco debut.

For its third full-length release, Bong, 29, has decided to broaden his original vision for Aloha Got Soul beyond 1970s and 1980s funk, soul and disco jams from the Islands to include electronic music.  One night back in 2014, Bong was browsing on the ambient blog and record label Sounds of the Dawn when he came across ÆOLUS’ ethereal second album, Rays. Digging into it further, he realized that Global Pacific, the New Age label that originally released the record, had at one time been based in Hawaii.

“I jumped around the room for a few minutes, freaked out about finding ÆOLUS’ music and the notion of a New Age or experimental scene in Hawaii,” he recalls. “Until then, I’d only been familiar with ‘70s and ‘80s jazz and soul.”

With his new find in mind, Bong got Robert Myers’ phone number straight from Sounds of the Dawn and reached out to ÆOLUS himself. Together, over the next two years, they collaborated on a comprehensive retrospective of Myers’ four solo works including 1982’s Aeolian Melodies, 1985’s Rays, 1989’s The Magician and 1993’s High Priestess. The result is a 13-track magnum-opus: ÆOLUS: A Retrospective.

The idea of experimental electronic music in Hawaii, specifically New Age, sounds like an exotic curiosity. In truth, there was no local scene to speak of at the time, as Bong himself points out in the release’s liner notes: “One might assume that ÆOLUS carved a new path for electronic music in Hawaii, but the islands never quite fully embraced the burgeoning New Age scene that ÆOLUS found himself a part of during the 1980s and early 1990s.”

Yet, even though ÆOLUS was charting his own creative course, Hawaii always been known as a diverse cultural and musical mecca: an open-minded and accepting safe haven where East meets West in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Musically speaking, jazz, funk, soul, rock, reggae, and traditional Hawaiian music all mix and mingle together to inspire all kinds of artists, create a laid-back island vibe and most of all, reinforce a strong sense of welcoming togetherness or “ohana” (Hawaiian for “family”).

“On the surface, you could say it's the natural beauty and the warm people,” Bong agrees. “Dig a little deeper and I’d say it’s ‘Aloha spirit’ that inspires so many artists here in Hawaii.”

In 1975, when he was 22, Myers transferred from San Diego State University to the University of Hawaii to study ethnomusicology and to surf. Over the next two years, he immersed himself in world music including specific study in sitar, shamisen, hula, South Indian singing, Javanese gamelan, and even Middle Eastern ensemble. He notes that, “Most important, at the time, was my introduction to shamanism and how [shamans] were the holders of not only the music of a culture, but the spiritual and cultural epicenter of any given people.”

In his spare time, he surfed all over Oʻahu, hiked through the mountains and down into the lush, green valleys, and ultimately, “was exposed to the culture and the unflinching beauty that is Hawaii.”

In addition to his ongoing academic studies in world music, he discovered and was inspired by visionary electronic and New Age artists of that era including Vangelis (Specifically China), Jean Michel Jarre, Brian Eno, Philip Glass and Giorgio Moroder, among others.

In the years following graduation, he became an accomplished working musician playing bassoon for the Honolulu Symphony as well as flute and percussion for other groups around town. He was a leading member of the local avant-garde performance arts scene as well as presenting his own solo work and collaborative concerts throughout the Islands.

“I was not a part of the greater island music scene at least not the clichéd island scene,” he says. “I was a member of isolated music scenes on O’ahu and the outer islands.” Ultimately, you can hear ÆOLUS — and all of his early musical influences — on A Retrospective. Standout selections like the contemplative constellation, “Orion” leads you on a deep journey inward with echoing flute and reverberating synth. Then, the meditative “Mystery of Music Park” wafts like a love song to reassure your senses. Next, “Archangel Michael” heralds the breaking dawn with resounding trumpet-like synth stabs. It’s heady, late-night headphone listening — and totally transportative.

Now, Myers, 63, lives in Portland, Maine and works as a counselor and psychotherapist, as well as continuing his passion for music on various side projects. But it’s been exciting to connect with Bong and bond over Hawaii and his early electronic compositions—and collaborate on this exclusive Aloha Got Soul reissue. “Roger has been a joy to work with,” Myers says. “He’s very musically informed and impeccable in his business acumen. His mission to bring forward undiscovered and underexposed Hawaiian music to a wider audience is inspired and genuine. I’m honored that Roger found me and I’ve been enlivened by his energy and diligence for our collaboration.

Bong, who’s busy right now working on an upcoming Aloha Got Soul documentary (set for a release in late summer or early fall), agrees: “Robert has been positive, insightful and very responsive all the way through. I only wish we lived closer so we could hang out more often.

He adds: “I think fans of Aloha Got Soul are curious because this is a real departure from our previous releases. My hope is to expand the Aloha Got Soul imprint, as well as expand the perspectives that people might have of AGS and of Hawaii.”

“So far, the response to the record has been spectacular,” Myers affirms. “It’s been a dream come true to breathe new life into this music.”

[cosmichoothoot]

Stolas sighed in releif when Blitz gave him the setting he wanted- essentially agreeing to Stolas's desire for him to never take the gem off, even if he didn't outright make the promise

He was a little hesitant to go into detail, but... if he had learned anything from their near breakup, it was that not being fully forthcoming with Blitz was an absolutely terrible idea

"Please sit my darling, this is.... a bit of a better explanation with full context," he said softly, setting the gem down on the desk before calling his grimoire to him from the shelf it currently rested on, Blitz still had it in his possession every night but the full moon, after all

With an easy sweep of his hand, the book turned to the correct pages, conjuring a beautifull illusion before them- the atmosphere falling dark like a night sky, and golden, sand-like textures emerging from the book, creating stick figures standing atop the pages- figures that began to move to act out the story Stolas was beginning to tell

"We call this gem the Moonstone- it's been based down through my family for generations, according to legend, it was created by my great, great grandfather many eons ago, before Hell even existed, back then, Earth had two moons, and as I mentioned, Hell had yet to come to form, meaning that my great, great grandfather- like all of Lucifer's original followers- was an angel, one night he received a prayer from a human woman- a witch- who was afraid for her lover's life, she had fallen in love with a soldier from an enemy clan, you see, and she worried that her lover would perish at the hands of her own family, now back then, witchcraft wasn't seen the way so many humans have seen it in recent years, it wasn't a sin or a condemnation of God, it was just an art form like any other, so the witch prayed to the angels, the spirits, and all other manner of celestial being to help her; my great, great grandfather ruled over the skies and cosmos much like I do, and when he heard this girl's plea, he was so moved by her sincerity, that he decided to answer it, and in doing so, he concocted something that could never be replicated- he took Earth's second moon from the sky and laced it with the embers of a dying star, then gave it to the young witch, who infused her own magic into the creation- thus, why it cannot be replicated, magic is always unique to it's holder, and in the end, they created this crystal- a crystal that grants it's wearer immortality, so long as they wear this crystal, no harm can come to them, not even age can claim their soul, for a time it worked for the young woman and her lover, but the crystal can only work for the wearer and there is only one, so as the woman began to age and the soldier found himself trapped in stasis, he began to fear that the crystal would curse him with a life alone, he decided one day to give the crystal back to his lover, so that she could stop her own aging for a time- though, it's unclear if the crystal really works that way or not- but unbeknownst to him, his bride's father knew what his daughter had done, knew of the crystal's power, and the moment the soldier took off the gem, his beloved's father cut off his head, separating the lovers.... but only for a short time, his daughter was so distraught that she took her own life to be with her love again, but not before placing a curse on her father and his descendants- it was around this time that the rebellion in heaven began, and by the time my great, great grandfather fell to the underworld, the curse had been set, and her father and all his other descendants had begun to appear in hell- with the crystal, a gift my great, great grandfather took back, angry that his good will had been practically spat on by the girl's family, he held onto the crystal until the birth of his first son and the passings on through generations began there, each one growing less and less impressed with what they presumed to be a powerless chunk of space rock- but I rule the cosmos as my great, great grandfather did, I KNOW the story is real- or atleast.... the magic held in this crystal is, I've seen Earth's second moon in visions, and can feel the indescribable power that sits in this box, to a Cosmic Witch- for lack of a better term- such as myself, it's... much the way you would feel holding a loaded gun I suppose, but more- much more,"

Pausing, he took a deep breath, reaching out to gently take Blitz's hand, the sand figures from the book crumpling into nothing more than piles of glitter, before fading away completely

"My family believes this crystal to be nothing more than a useless rock, so they think nothing of letting me have it, but I know the truth, I know that it can protect you, it can keep you safe from the horrors your profession entails, from people down here who seek to stand against you just because of who or what you are, or.... your association with me.... from the very concept of mortality it's self, I'm not sure but it may even protect you from angelic weapons, given it was created- at the time- by an angel himself, I'm already very close to immortal- as is Via- so we don't really need it but you..... you do..."

Pausing again, he glanced down, squeezing Blitz's hand

"But it's absolutely imperative that you never give it to anyone else, it's.. as I said.... the original owner of the crystal was so overcome by greif when her lover was murdered that she cursed her own family... and... she used the crystal to do so, I'm a little foggy on the exact details, but from what I understand, only someone who possesses the same magic of that wich resides in the crystal can choose to bestow it upon another, anyone who does not possess such magic and attempts to do so will face a gruesome death, as will whoever they've given the crystal to, I share the same powers my great, great grandfather had, so I can choose to give this to you, so... please Blitz, please wear it... please..."

"Blitz... may I speak with you for a moment?"

"Uh, sure?" Blitzo replied hesitantly. He wasn't sure what Stolas wanted to talk about. But that phrasing he never boded well for him in the past.

[fangirlfromdownunder]

Human Kwami

So hear me out. The kwami were all humans before becoming the guardians of the miraculous. The kwami power itself, is created by abstract idea I’m not disputing that. However, the idea cannot be put into a miraculous item without a person first, more exactly a mage. This help allows the power to communicate with people and achieve good in the world

What if the first users used the gems for so long they became merged with the abstract idea themselves, forming what we know as kwami.

Idea for each one under the cut. Because this is long.

Plagg:

Plagg was a pour man born into poverty. He stole to survive and lived on the streets. The nights he would have a roof over his head were due to the abandoned buildings in the area.

He’s somewhere in Arabia

He would do odd jobs for people when he felt like it

Stealing things for people in power, doing jobs others didn’t want

Due to this Plagg actually had many run-ins with creatures of myth, including the great Jin who grants wishes.

Plagg wanted to make a whish, he had a lot of things he wanted but could never have. But the Jin told him that he was not the one who’s wishes he would grant, instead he was told to head east immediately due to not only destiny but a risk on his life

Well let's just say he didn't listen and ended up stealing from someone he really shouldn’t have and ended up in prison.  

Bad luck man, really can’t catch a break can he? But he got a sick ring out of it

But like… He’s gonna lose his hand so what’s the point?

Well it was at this time another traveler was passing through the country and just so happened to know about Plagg’s destiny, as it intertwined with her own.

Tikki:

A young monk from India, she practiced Hinduism all her life.

One night she had a dream. The dream told her to travel, walk as far east as you can until you come to a city filled with triangular building that they called Pyramids.  

She was also told of a boy, locked up for theft and would lose a hand if she did not rescue him.

And so she left

When you get a prophetic dream you don’t ignore it guys, you do what it tells you

She walked for many days until she found the boy, rescuing him they flied before anyone noticed he was gone.  

Yeah, she really should have though this through? Now she’s as much of a criminal as he is

The two walked through deserts and through days and nights until they arrived at there destination.

Apparently the ruler of the country, one referred to as Pharaoh, was told by his gods that they would be coming.

He directed them towards a magician who had been researching an ancient script that described thoughts and powers being brought into a taggable form through the use of gems. And with the Pharaoh’s help they waited for the correct holders to the gems to arrive

And thus, Tikki handed over earrings she had worn her whole life for as long as she remembered and Plagg the only position of any worth he owned, the ring he stole and not thanked due to it bringing him Tikki

And thus the Kwami of good and bad fortune were formed.

(I know Tikki is meant to have formed when the universe was but like… Bear with me)

The two then set out to find others who would fit in protecting the world and spreading good.

Nooroo:

Philosophy is an interesting practice, one practiced by a man known as Nooroo

He’s from Ancient Greece

He had a great desire for knowledge and desired for everyone to live happily.

However, he was naive. Easily manipulated by those around him due to his idealistic views.

This constant manipulation made him cautious to trust people in later years and as such he found it difficult to form relationships

Please help him he just want’s to help. Stop taking advantage of the pour baby

He questioned everything, from peoples emotions and ethics to the government.  

This did not end well for him when one day he was put under arrest for treason due to being to open about his question

Fortunately for him the people who tried to arrest him weren’t all that smart and he was able to escape

Knowing he couldn't stay in Greece he traveled across the sea to find new land. And land he did find  

Yeah he kind just ended up in Egypt by accident when fleeing arrest, everyone back home assumed he died at sea. 

When he arrived  asked by a strange man what he valued he responded knowledge 

This pleased the Stanger and Nooroo was handed a brooch  

And thus he began to communicate with the abstract idea of knowledge  

(Plagg you could at least try ya know?)

Wayzz:

A man of Asian decent, he traveled his whole life.

He never felt stable anywhere he was, seeking a home he felt safe and able to protect those he cared for.

He carried a bracelet with him everywhere he went, It had been his fathers and his fathers before him

They believed that it would bring balance to their lives, as it was made from jade, and for each it did. For his grandfather he found balance in knowledge, for his father it brought his wife who balanced his reckless nature, and Wayzz could only hope it would do the same for him

His travels took him many places. Each more extraordinary than the last.

One day he met a woman who he felt an amazing connection with, a girl named Tikki.

Is this the balance he was looking for? Was he like his father who would be balanced by his other half?

He and Tikki became very close, Wayzz actually settled in her village. They spoke everyday, yet neither felt any form of romance towards the other.

He then met a man who seemed to be very close to Tikki, this man called himself Plagg.

This confused Wayzz because  if he had seen the world and retuned home, why was he so young?

As disappointed as he was in this, Tikki being very attractive, he was not upset. Tikki was vey much like a sister to him now

It was a few more years until he was told all of what they had done together and was given his own way to make the world better

This was the Kwami of stability

Duusu:  

Duusu’s story of gaining a miraculous isn’t as interesting as the others

She was born near that small area of water separating India and Sri Lanka

She often got in trouble for being so open with her opinions. This lead to a lot of tears because she was so sensitive.

A young man known as Plagg was visiting the area, curious as to the home land of his other half. That’s when he met the young girl with tear streaked cheeks

He tried to help he really does. Buys her something to eat and everything

But he ends up falling over himself and dropping it on the ground

He sits with her and asks her what’s wrong. Finds out that the girl is from a poor family and that she want’s to make the world a better place.

Plagg hands her a brooch and tells her it’s magic and that she has to keep it secret, she’s never to sell it.

And thus we have the Kwami of integrity.

If you hadn’t noticed Plagg’s kinda lazy when it comes to picking people, That’s why they put someone else in charge later

Trix

We got another thief over here. 

She stole that necklace and now it's hers 

A girl descended from the country now known as Spain who stole for fun as well as to survive 

Girl likes to mess with people okay?

She's just having fun She's extremely agile and smart about who she steals from

She knows what she's doing and laughs at Plagg for getting caught

So when she tried to steal from someone and ended up caught and hurt she was surprised. 

She ended up in someone's house and decided to hide for a while, at least for the night She awoke to the smell of something delicious cooking and a dark skinned man standing over her To say she was scared would be an understatement 

The interaction went something like this 

Trix “Who are you?!”

Plagg “That’s my line, you’re in my room”

Trix “Get away!”

Plagg “Wow. Rude. And to think I let you sleep here all night.” He striated and called through to another room “Yo, Tikki! You sure she’s the one you want?”

Tikki from the other room “Yes! I just feel it!”

Yeah, She was really confused. 

But Tikki saw potential in her. So she ended up being taught all about the miraculous and kwami and all that jazz 

And in the end she became the kwami of cunning 

Pollen:

Pollen was a noble from China during the Jin dynasty

Known for her beauty she was very popular and had many possible marriage offers. This, however, did not last long

During the wars between the eight princes during the time her family was seen as a possible threat by many, as alliances with nobles were important. She had been placed in a marriage with someone who’s allegiances were placed in a party her parents hoped would win this war

This displeased many of the others involved with Pollen and her whole family, including those in her new husbands, were killed. She escaped barely with her life and disused the body of one of the maids who was unidentifiable as herself.  

Having fled her home and with no where to go, as she know if she were to seek help the assassins would seek her out again, she wept, the only thing she kept of her past life is the comb her mother gifted her for her wedding

However, after her time of grief she decided that she could not allow this misfortune to dictate the rest of her life.

This will be a growing experience

You will not keep her down!

And so she walked and walked until she could no longer stand.

By the time she was exhausted it was snowing. She knew if she did not find shelter soon she would die of cold, luckily she saw a small home near by

She approached the house and discovered a young man, a farmer, who lived alone. He agreed to allow her to stay until the snow passed. He had more than enough supplies for the both of them to last out the cold  

The snow did not stop for a long while, and over this time they began to get to know each other

And eventually fell in love

When winter passed the farmer offered for her to stay with him, as he knew she had no where to go. He offered to take her as his wife and they would continue to keep the land once owned by his father full of life and happiness

Of course she said yes.  

How could she not?

And this was how her misfortune became good fortune

Soon after their wedding she became pregnant, and 8 months into her pregnancy they had a visit from a strange couple

It was her second winter with the farmer when a knock came at the door. A man and a woman like no one she had ever seen were standing at the door asking for shelter, if only for a few nights

Of course they said yes!

Over the next few days they learned much about the odd couple.

That their names were Plagg and Tikki

That they came from the east

That the seek to fill the world with good

Pollen became very close with Tikki during this time, as she was heavy with child and Tikki offered as much help as she could.

In fact, when Pollen went into labor prematurely, it was Tikki who deliver the baby while Plagg went with the farmer to find a doctor

And it would seem that Pollen’s luck just kept coming as, despite being premature, the child was born quiet health

The small house was filled with the joy of a new child. The strange couple could not be happier for the ex-noble and her famer husband

The night that Tikki and Plagg decided they needed to leave Tikki spoke with Pollen privately. She explained what exactly they were and that she believed Pollen would fit perfectly with their odd group of Kwami.

Of course she said she would join them in spreading love and peace through the world

And so the kwami of growth was born

[jeremystrele]

The Tiny Beachside Apartment That Packs An Architectural Punch

The Tiny Beachside Apartment That Packs An Architectural Punch

Architecture

by Sally Tabart

The Clovelly Apartment by James Garvan. Limed Marine Plywood joinery. Engineered ‘Hekke’ oak floorboards by Tongue and Groove. Artedomus ‘Argenton’ 6mm porcelain benchtops. Ceramics by Mud. Stools by Thonet. Photo – Katherine Lu.

The Clovelly Apartment by James Garvan. Limed Marine Plywood joinery. Engineered ‘Hekke’ oak floorboards by Tongue and Groove. Artedomus ‘Argenton’ 6mm porcelain benchtops. Ceramics by Mud. Photo – Katherine Lu.

The Clovelly Apartment by James Garvan. Limed Marine Plywood joinery. Artedomus ‘Argenton’ 6mm porcelain benchtops. Ceramics by Mud. Photo – Katherine Lu. Photo – Katherine Lu.

The Clovelly Apartment by James Garvan. Limed Marine Plywood joinery. Engineered ‘Hekke’ oak floorboards by Tongue and Groove. Artedomus ‘Argenton’ 6mm porcelain benchtops. Ceramics by Mud. Dining chairs by Thonet. ‘Nook’ sofa by Jardan. Photo – Katherine Lu.

  Dining chairs by Thonet. ‘Nook’ sofa by Jardan. Photo – Katherine Lu.

Photo – Katherine Lu.

Dining chairs by Thonet. ‘Nook’ sofa by Jardan. Photo – Katherine Lu. Photo – Katherine Lu.

Photo – Katherine Lu.

Photo – Katherine Lu.

After living in this 1960s single-bed apartment perched on the Clovelly cliff tops for a few years, architect James Garvan decided to take matters into his own hands. ‘We loved its intense connection to the ocean and landscape, but the internal configuration drove us mad’ he says! James and his partner had already embarked upon some major life milestones in their almost-dream home – they were married in the front yard – but just before the arrival of their first baby, James and his wife gave their seaside gem a complete overhaul, to ensure many more memories to come.

‘Being your own client is HARD’, admits James. ‘Suddenly, all your decisiveness goes out of the window and a simple exercise like choosing a loo-roll holder becomes agonising!’ Despite the challenges (the loo holder being the least of concerns, considering this extensive modification was made to a first-floor unit in a four-storey building!) James has created a serene space to nourish his growing family.

The inspiration and references for this project were born out of its cliff-top context, and the way that the couple like to live; ‘connected to the landscape, socially active and sometimes reclusive.’ In order to completely reconfigure the floorplan, ten of eleven load-bearing walls were removed and replaced with expressed steel beams. These beams are left exposed, a nod to the remnants of the previous floor plan.

A functional joinery wall with a series of ‘secret’ pivoting panels divides the private spaces from the public spaces, and anchors the kitchen/dining/living spaces against the ocean view backdrop. While the bedrooms and bathrooms are immediately adjacent to the living spaces, these panels cleverly conceal any clues of what lies behind – a genius solution for clear zone delineation on a small footprint!

The original 1965 floorplan was a classic reflection of its era – the kitchen was at the back of the house, rooms were small and compartmentalised, and access to the ocean views was limited (can you imagine NOT making the most of these views!?). The new floorplan prioritises the living spaces and creates a strong connection to those spectacular vistas, as well as ample access to natural light.

Limited floorspace in the 62sqm apartment (and the fact that existing windows could not be modified) required some seriously efficient ideas to maximise every inch of space. James incorporated joinery units throughout the home, with every unit either displaying objects or concealing them. An additional layer of personality is brought to the project via the various object displays throughout the home. The central joinery display that nestles between the steel beams overhead not only provides an opportunity to showcase treasured pieces, but softly divides the dining and lounge spaces, without losing connectivity between them.

‘This project was an opportunity to strut my stuff, to create something that embodied my design principles and ambitions,’ tells James. ‘But ultimately, I just wanted a home that intuitively felt good’. And what a triumphant result!

[arplis]

Arplis - News: Looking for unique camper gifts? We found tons of them! From ingenious RV accessories and electronic gadgets to fun travel journals, decor, kitchen/barware and more! We’ve got a great list of RV gifts that are awesome housewarming ideas for new RV...

Awesome Gift Ideas RV Owners Will Be Crazy About! RV Owner Gift Idea Categories To make your shopping easier, we have grouped these awesome RV owner gift ideas into 7 categories. You can leisurely scroll down this post or jump to a specific group of gifts if you are looking for something specific. Practical But Cool RV Gift Ideas Map And Travel Journal RV Gift Ideas Decor Gift Ideas For RV Owners Kitchen And Barware RV Gift Ideas Fun Entertainment Gift Ideas For RV Owners Electronic Gadget RV Gift Ideas Wearable Gift Ideas RV Owners Love 😍💜 PRACTICAL BUT COOL RV GIFT IDEAS Aluminum Telescopic Extension Ladder Some RVs have ladders attached to the rear of the rig so owners can easily climb to the roof for inspections and repairs but that might not be the only place you want to climb to! This Aluminum Telescopic Extension Ladder is one of those practical RV gifts for owners who need the functionality of a ladder but need to limit the space required to transport/store it. This telescoping ladder extends to 12.5 ft, weighs only 14 pounds but holds up to 330 pounds. The best part is that it collapses down to fit neatly in its carrying bag.   & HitchSafe Key Vault Storing valuables in an RV can be challenging. This HitchSafe Key Vault is ingeniously designed to secure keys, cards and valuables inside the receiver! It features metal construction and the lock combination can be changed with 10,000 codes possible. My husband saw this and said “This thing is so cool! Why didn’t I invent that?!?” My response…Good question! 😉 We have more campsite security gift ideas RV owners will totally love in our A Secure Campsite Protects Valuables From Theft post! & Talk about unique gifts for camper owners and their dogs … yes, I said dogs! So many RV owners travel with their dogs and they need to keep track of their keys, fobs and dogs all at the same time. That’s why we think this Camping Key Fob Strap with the matching Camping Dog Collar are perfect RV gift ideas for camping families with fur babies! Woof! 🐾 & Camping Key Fob StrapCamping Dog Collar & Digital Tire Pressure Gauge & Emergency Tool Having a full set of tools is important! Get our FREE printable RV Tool Kit Checklist here. It’s also good to have a handy multi-tool when traveling in an RV. This Digital Air Gauge Car Rescue Tool is a combo Digital Air Tire Gauge, LED Flashlight, Seat Belt Cutter, Glass Punch Breaks Side Window in Emergency and more. Multi-tools make fabulous campervan gifts because of the extremely limited storage areas in those vehicles. & An RV In Line Water Filter is probably one of the most unimpressive camper gifts you could think of but RV owners will love you for it! This simple in-line filter design easily connects to an RV water system and protects against bacteria and sediment in drinking water while reducing bad taste, odors and chlorine. It really is a meekly marvelous RV gift! &  RV/Marine Water Filter With Flexible Hose ProtectorRV In Line Water Filter   & Hang N Out Trash Bag Holder Trash cans are big and bulky but totally necessary … or … are they? Because space is always tight when RVing, using gadgets that save space during storage and transportation is critical. This Hang N Out Trash Bag Holder eliminates the need for a trash can. The bag holder mechanism fits snugly over tires and holds a 30-gallon drawstring trash bag open and ready for use. These things make great gifts for campers who have everything (or so you think!) P.S. I just had somebody tell me I was a genius because I have this cool gadget in this blog post BUT I didn’t invent it … I just found it, so I guess that means I am a genius camping shopper! 😉 LOL & Home Is Where We Park It RV Mat This Home Is Where We Park It RV Mat is one of those totally practical yet ridiculously cute RV gift ideas for the clean freaks on your gift list! RV owners who like keeping the dirt out of their rig will love this rug because it is so easy to clean … just sweep the dirt from the polypropylene material … if it gets really dirty, you can just hose it off with water and let it quickly dry in the sun. These mats are lightweight and fold easily to fit inside the carrying bag. & These Vehicle Extraction Mats are seriously cool RV camping gifts for people who like to do off-road camping. We can speak from experience when it comes to spinning wheels while trying to pull out of a muddy National Forest dispersed campsite after a weekend of rain and thunderstorms! 😳 YIKES … it is not fun! Extraction mats are raised tracks that help prevent vehicle tires from spinning on snow, sand, mud or ice with no requirement for towing or pushing … and the large size fits almost any vehicle. &  Vehicle Extraction MatsOff-Road Mud, Sand And Snow   & Taz “Back Off!” Spare Tire Cover Spare tires are an absolute necessity for RV owners but who says the protective cover needs to be boring? This Taz “Back Off!” Spare Tire Cover says what so many RV drivers want to say when a vehicle driving behind us is tailgating … BACK OFF! LOL! 😉 Unique tire covers make fun camper gifts and they are easy to pack and ship if you are sending your gift across the miles! & Trailer-Aid “Plus” Tandem Tire Changing Ramp Wanna be a Rock Star to a friend who owns an RV? Get them a Trailer-Aid “Plus” Tandem Tire Changing Ramp! I’m not kidding!!! We have friends who have a business that requires them to tow lots of trailers across the country (getting the unavoidable flat tire on the highway every once in a while) and they turned us on to this little gem. You just drive the good tire on the ramp and the flat tire is lifted off the ground high enough to change the tire WITHOUT A JACK AND WITHOUT EMPTYING CARGO (even horses can remain inside a horse trailer!!!) There is a 15,000 pound limit which means it can handle most travel trailer RVs, cargo trailers and horse trailers! These ramps may seem like funny gifts for campers but they are worth their weight in gold when you need them! & Universal Clip-On Towing Mirror Visibility to change lanes when towing a trailer with a car, SUV or even a truck with small mirrors is a challenge because the standard vehicle mirrors don’t extend far enough to see traffic very well. That’s when using Universal Clip-On Towing Mirrors becomes necessary. These mirrors make driving safer and nervous passengers feel more secure. Drivers with those types of passengers will thank you over and over for this gift! 😉 & Memory Foam Mattress RV Short Queen Some RV beds have awesome mattresses … most do not. I used to put sleeping bags over our RV mattress and then put our sheets over that. The sleeping bags gave us a little extra cushion which was great UNTIL we received one of the most unique camper gifts we ever received … a memory foam mattress! No more sleeping bags on our RV bed! Using an RV Memory Foam Mattress is a great way to improve a less-than-desirable RV mattress! This one features 2 inches Memory Foam and 6 inches High-density Base Support Foam! & Happy Campers Personalized Campsite Flag Marking your territory with a campsite flag is fun and an awesome gift for RV owners when you get it personalized just for them! This Happy Campers Personalized Campsite Flag is one of my favorites because it includes a BBQ grill … and … you know how much I love good camping food!?!? I didn’t name my blog Camping For Foodies for nothing, ya know! 😉 Want more ideas for personalized gifts for camper owners? Check out our Personalized Camping Gifts For RV And Tent Campers post! & RV Designer Klippy Clips When we are RVing, we are always hanging something around our campsite … like lights, banners, flags, and whatever else we can think of … LOL! These RV Designer Klippy Clips are great for hanging stuff from an RV awning. The clips are made of high impact plastic, have rust-proof stainless steel springs and they pivot/swivel! These clips make practical gifts for camper owners and if you combine them with something fun to hang on them (like string lights), they are even better! Check out our Best Camping Lights For Lighting Your Campsite for more lighting gift ideas!💡 & Happy Camper Printed Duct Tape Every RV owner uses duct tape once in a while so why not use a designer looking tape? This totally funky Happy Camper Printed Duct Tape is a high performance strength tape that adheres to a variety of surfaces, including wood, vinyl, plastic, leather, metal and laminate! I’ve actually witnessed RV owners decide duct tape is the only way to “fix” something after receiving a roll of this stuff as a gift! 🤣 LOL & Spice Gripper Clip Strips Storing spices becomes a challenge in a regular home kitchen and because space is limited in RVs, it is an even bigger problem. These Spice Gripper Clip Strips are the perfect solution for that problem! Why not use the wasted space on the back side of a cabinet door to solve RV kitchen organization problems?!? The added benefit of this gadget is the ability to easily see when spices are getting low! These make practical gifts for RV people who love cooking! & Upright Position Plate Holder Someday RV designers will create better kitchen cabinets so there is not a ton of wasted space where dishes are stored. Until then, using an Upright Position Plate Holder is a great fix! Making wasted space usable is the way to reduce clutter and easily find items in the small spaces of an RV. To make these a super-cute and more substantial gift for RV owners, add a set of RV camp themed plates! & Pop-A-Toothbrush This toothbrush holder is one of the cheapest but coolest gifts an RV owner could ever want! The Pop-A-Toothbrush protects toothbrushes from dust and germs and avoids the need to use valuable shelf space in the RV medicine cabinet. It easily fastens to the bathroom wall with double-sided tape and is vented for quick drying. & Wrap Around Step Rug Keeping the inside of an RV clean is easiest when you keep the dirt out! Using a Wrap Around Step Rug is an easy way to catch dirt prior to entering an RV. It wraps around the existing RV step and is fastened by hooking springs into the holes. It can be used with manual or electric steps, measures 18″ x 17.5″, and adjusts to fit steps with a tread of 8″ to 10.5″. These things make awesome camper gifts for the entire family because nobody wants to get assigned the chore of sweeping out the RV when it is a never-ending task! & RV Fridge Airator Cooling an RV refrigerator evenly is not automatic because they typically don’t have the best airflow. This RV Fridge Airator is a high-volume air circulator which also absorbs odors! It measures about 4 x 6 x 8 inches so it doesn’t take up a ton of space and it operates on batteries. We have more practical food safety gift ideas in our Camping Food Safety Tips Including How To Pack A Cooler For Camping post! & RV Fridge Braces These are seriously cool! Lots of RV owners don’t even know these things exist but when they find them, they fall in love! Shifting cargo is always a problem when traveling in an RV but these RV Fridge Braces keep food and beverages from sliding inside the fridge during travel and easily attach to RV refrigerator wire shelves. As long as an RV has a fridge, these braces make great camper gifts. & Adjustable Broom And Dustpan Expandable gadgets are SWEET for RVs because storage space is always limited. These types of practical RV gifts may not be exciting to people who don’t own RVs … but, are off-the-charts cool for people who do! This Adjustable Broom And Dustpan is perfect for keeping RV interiors clean. The handle length is adjustable! The broom collapses to 24″ for compact storage and extends to 52″ when in use. Yes, you can stand straight up when brooming inside an RV! & Mudbuster Portable Dog Paw Cleaner Dog-loving RV owners will be crazy about this Mudbuster Portable Dog Paw Cleaner! Keeping the dog outside the RV just to keep the mud out is not necessary … which makes these little cleaners unique camping gifts for dogs and humans! This little gadget has gentle silicone bristles inside and it works by adding a little water then inserting the dog’s paw and twisting a little to wash off the mud. Do that to all 4 paws, pat them dry and let Queen Elizabark (or whatever the dog’s name is 🤣 LOL) jump in the RV without a mess! They come in 3 sizes to fit small, medium or large paws! & RV Flag Pole Kit Parked RVs never feel like home until the flag is flyin’ high! Whether you are flying the stars and stripes or your favorite sporting team flag, this RV Flag Pole Kit is a sturdy RV system that mounts to any flat surface and fits most RV ladders. When extended, it can accommodate flags up to 3′ x 5′ and the pole collapses for easy storage too. These pole kits make especially great gifts for RV campers who use their RVs at special events (like car races, horse shows, hot air balloon events etc.) and park in a sea of campers … flying a flag that is visible from a distance makes it easy to find one single rig among hundreds of others! & Pack of 2 Wheel Chocks Rolling down the highway is fine … rolling at your campsite isn’t! Using wheel chocks helps keep your RV trailer and tow vehicle in place while parked. This Pack of 2 Wheel Chocks is designed to be used with tires up to 26″ in diameter. & Camp Casual Travel Map Throw It’s always a good idea to keep a few extra throws and blankets around the RV … especially when camping in cooler weather. This Camp Casual Travel Map Throw is one of the most unique gifts for camper owners who like to add a little quirky retro style to their practical gear. This throw is super comfy and soft, 100% polyester and machine washable! & Stabilizer Jack Pad 4-Pack Looking for a super-practical gift for RV owners? Here it is! This Stabilizer Jack Pad 4-Pack helps prevent jacks from sinking into soft ground. The pads are specifically designed to use with stack jacks, fifth wheel stabilizers, swing down stabilizers and awning arms. Each pad measures 6.5″ x 9″ x 1″, has a built-in handle and the set includes a storage strap. & RV There Yet? Vanity Front License Plate In states where a front license plate is not required, displaying a fun RV vanity plate makes perfect sense! This RV There Yet? Vanity Front License Plate is one of those RV gift ideas that is inexpensive, easy to ship and a sassy little surprise! 😎 & Leveling Blocks 10-Pack This Leveling Blocks 10-Pack allows you to level an RV that is parked on an unlevel surface. The interlocking blocks can be used under tires, trailer tongues and swing arm supports. We use ours often when boondocking (aka remote camping or dispersed camping) in areas like National Forests. The blocks are not designed to be used with big rigs; more sophisticated RVs have built-in levelers. Always know your equipment and its limitations. & Teardrop Camper Trailer Night Light Did I mention that practical RV gift ideas don’t have to be boring??? This whimsical little Teardrop Camper Trailer Night Light is the most adorable way to gently light the path to the RV bathroom when hosting overnight guests! It’s so fun and blingy! 🤩 & Natural Eucalyptus Mosquito Repellent Candle Gifts for camper owners that do triple duty (like smell good, put off a warm glow and deter bugs) and can be used inside or outside the RV are winners by all measures! This Natural Eucalyptus Mosquito Repellent Indoor/Outdoor Candle burns for 88 hours and uses no chemicals to ward off bugs … instead, it uses essential oils including lemongrass, citronella, geranium and lemon. For more bug deterring gifts, check out our How To Keep Bugs Away While Camping post. & It is not always easy to find gift ideas for RV owners with babies or grand babies! This Happy Camper Baby Collection is so adorable and so unique! The collection includes a Happy Camper Baby Quilt and a Happy Camper Changing Pad Cover. These babies will love RVing before they learn how to talk! 👶 &  Happy Camper Baby CollectionHappy Camper Baby QuiltHappy Camper Changing Pad Cover   & MAP AND TRAVEL JOURNAL RV GIFT IDEAS This Passport To Your National Parks Booklet is one of the most popular travel journal gift ideas RV owners absolutely love for pre-planning visits to America’s National Parks as well as memory capturing during the trip! The book comes in different formats and it lists all of the National Parks in the United States and U.S. territories. My favorite part is the space for the “cancellation” stamps you can add to your book during your visits. 😊 & Passport To Your National ParksSpace For “Cancellation” Stamps & RV Permanent State Sticker Part of the beauty of RV travel is experiencing the journey (and not just the destination) and tracking your travels … Many RVers use state sticker maps to do that. This RV Permanent State Sticker Set is unique because each sticker depicts a license plate graphic of each state. The peel and press vinyl stickers resist water, sun and salt. These make great motorhome gifts for people who do a lot of traveling. & Travel journals are fabulous gift ideas for RV owners who do lots of traveling to diverse locations and like changing up their trips. Some travel journals have awesome covers but are just filled with lined pages and you capture your journey with whatever thoughts come to mind. I really like this RV There Yet? My Road Trip Journal because of the RV specific writing prompts on the inside pages which include things like dates/weather/routes, odometer readings/miles per gallon, who you are traveling with/meet along the journey, sites/memorable events, dining experiences and places to remember for next time and more! & RV There Yet? Travel JournalWriting Prompts For RV Trips & Life Is Good In The Trailerhood Travel Journal This Life Is Good In The Trailerhood Travel Journal is one of the most detailed journals we have ever seen for RVing. One of the coolest things in this journal is the map of the United States for coloring in as you travel! It also includes writing prompts for: (1) Departure, Destination and Route Information, (2) Weather and Mileage Log, (3) Detailed Campsite Information including hookups, amenities, wifi and more, (4) Places Visited / Activities, (5) New Friends, (6) Food / Dining / Restaurants, (7) Places to Go and Things to See Next Time, (8) Places to get Water, Propane and Dump Stations for boondockers. This particular journal makes awesome gifts for RV owners who are full-timers as well as those who are planning a special “bucket list” type of trip.   & Arizona Benchmark Road & Recreation Atlas If you are a frequent reader of my blog, you already know how much I love my Arizona Benchmark Road And Recreation Atlas for our RV travel planning. National Geographic Maps publishes these for many states and the information includes backcountry roads, trailheads, campgrounds, points of interest, hunting units, RV parks, golf, and boating locations too! These books make awesome RV gifts for campers who will be exploring a new state on an upcoming trip. & RV Travel Journal: Roam The Roads Capturing your travels in a journal is a great way to revisit your trips and share them with others. This RV Travel Journal: Roam The Roads includes writing prompts like “The day started like this”, “Things I should do today”, “Today I feel”, “Favorite moment in the day” and more. Travel journals make great gifts for RV owners who travel to many different destinations and like staying in new places rather than campers who have a “routine” camping trip and regular camp spot. & National Geographic Guide To Scenic Highways And Byways: The 300 Best Drives In The U.S. Most RV owners will tell you that RVing is all about slowing down and enjoying the journey which includes taking in beautiful landscapes while traveling from one camping location to the next. That’s why we think scenic drive guide books are awesome gift ideas for RV owners who love camping and taking the “long route” so they can soak up the beauty of America. The National Geographic Guide To Scenic Highways And Byways: The 300 Best Drives In The U.S. is packed with beautiful illustrations and helpful tips to explore more than 300 getaways throughout the 50 states.    & This National Parks Journal is so unique because it features full-color poster art … original National Park poster designs by the Anderson Design Group. This 128 page hardcover journal includes information about each of the 59 American National Parks with travel tips, fun facts, and space for writing which makes them awesome RV and camping gifts for people who love traveling the U.S. and visiting Parks throughout the nationwide system. &  National Parks JournalNational Parks JournalNational Parks Journal   DECOR GIFT IDEAS FOR RV OWNERS Happy Campers Pendulum Clock Don’t you just love functional and whimsical decor items? This Happy Campers Pendulum Clock is soooooo cute and it is a working clock too! It is the design of artist Michelle Allen. This is one of those gift ideas RV owners with a quirky artistic creative side will treasure forever. I just love the little tow vehicle truck on the pendulum! The clock runs on one AA battery so it is great for RVers who like boondocking without hookups! & I Do Have A Retirement Plan I Plan On Camping Sign Plaque Everyone I know who is looking for gift ideas for RV owners … has at least one person on their list who totally fits the message of this funny I Do Have a Retirement Plan … I Plan on Camping sign!   & Home Is Where The Welcome Mat Is Outdoor Mat Every RV needs a cool welcome mat! We love this Home Is Where The Welcome Mat Is Outdoor Mat with the fun retro trailer image in the woods! The material is indoor/outdoor carpeting that can be cleaned with a hose and brush. The real gift is keeping the dirt outside your RV! 😂 LOL & Happy Camper Pillowcase Cover Some of the most unique RV and camping gifts are slightly functional but over-the-top delightfully decorative! This Road Trip Travel Pillow Cover is one of those gifts! It has a fun design which makes a cute throw pillow for an RV sofa, recliner or bed. You don’t have to worry about it being “decorative only” because the cover has a zipper making it easy to remove and it is machine washable too! If you want to give this gift as an entire throw pillow (rather than just a cover), make sure you get a Pillow Insert too!   & Camp Casual Road Map Throw Decorative throw blankets make pretty and practical RV gift ideas that quickly add a splash of personality to any rig! This Camp Casual Road Map Throw is really soft, 100% polyester, measures 50″x60″ and is machine washable. The retro travel images of highway signs and vintage cars pulling tiny trailers is sure to put a smile on your face. 😍   & Welcome To Our Campsite Where Friends & Marshmallows Get Toasted At The Same Time Sign Cute signs can be hung at home or in RVs. This colorful Welcome To Our Campsite Where Friends & Marshmallows Get Toasted At The Same Time Sign measures 5″ x 10″. The funny message is printed on MDF and a rope hanger is included. 🔥 They make fun camper gifts for people who like to socialize during their camping adventures … whether in a small pop-up camper or a massive motorhome. & Home Is Where You Park It Throw Pillow Case Cover Decorative throw pillows are a fun way to add a little whimsical style to any RV. When a camping woman also likes to decorate, some of the best camping gifts for her include pillow covers that can simply change the feel of a room with an inexpensive new cover. This Home Is Where You Park It Throw Pillow Case Cover is a cotton/linen blend measuring 18″ x 18″ inches and can be used with 18″ x 18″ or 20″ x 20″ pillow inserts. The hidden zipper makes the case easy to remove for machine washing too! & RV Home Is Anyplace I’m With You Terry Towel This totally cute RV Home Is Anyplace I’m With You Terry Towel features artwork by artist Suzanne Nicoll and measures 16″ x 26″. The 100% cotton material is fast-drying and the towel has a loop for displaying the towel when not in use. Don’t you just love camper gift ideas that are decorative and functional too?!?! & Camper Trailer RV Picture Frame We love the personal connection time we have with friends and family on camping trips! This Camper Trailer RV Picture Frame is a cute way to frame a photo to be displayed inside an RV! They come in all sorts of models including 5th Wheels, C Class Motorhomes, A Class Motorhomes and Pop-Ups! Some of the best gifts for campers are the ones you can personalize, so don’t just give a picture frame … add a fun photo from a camping trip too! & Happy Camper Garden Flag Garden flags are a popular way to quickly decorate a “temporary yard” for RVs that are always on the go! This Happy Camper Garden Flag features solarsilk polyester fabric which means it is mildew and fade resistant. The flag fits standard garden flag holders. We have more cool flag gifts for camper owners in our Flag Your Camp With Cool Camping Spinners And RV Flags post! & RV Camper Birdhouse Birdhouses and feeders attract wild birds and are a fun addition to any RV campsite! This RV Camper Birdhouse has an adorably quirky design with a “trailer for sale or rent” notice hanging on a camper reminiscent of the old classic Airstreams. It is made of resin, measures 8.5″L x 4.5″W x 5″H and includes a wire for hanging too! Birdhouses are wonderful camping gift ideas for couples who like watching birds AND those who travel with their cats who like to watch the “nature show” outside of the RV window! & Retro Travel Trailer Party String Lights Using string lights is a popular way to light up campsites. You can find them in all sorts of designs now and we just love the idea of mini RVs lighting up the real thing! The Retro Travel Trailer Party String Lights are UL approved for indoor and outdoor use. Each 120V with overload protection is an 8′ strand that contains ten lights. Each set includes two spare bulbs and a spare fuse. Don’t you think they make cute gifts for camper owners?!?! 😍 &  KITCHEN AND BARWARE RV GIFT IDEAS Camp, Hike, Cook, Drink, Eat, Repeat Stainless Steel Cocktail Shaker Gift Set Shaking a cocktail at the campsite couldn’t be more cool! This Camp, Hike, Cook, Drink, Eat, Repeat Stainless Steel Cocktail Shaker Gift Set includes a sleek brushed stainless steel strainer-topped shaker, muddler and two-sided jigger all in a ready-to-give decorative box. This is just one of the things we take on our glamping trips! We have more adorable gifts for camper owners in our Cute Glamping Accessories And DIY Glam Camping Ideas And Tips post! & Chopping veggies and camp meal prep just got way more fun! This Retro Camper Flexible Cutting Mat has the cutest design with a retro RV camper next to a dutch oven cooking over a campfire! It also comes in a Retro Camper Flexible Cutting Mat Set which includes 3 different sized mats for various tasks. All of the mats include holes for hanging on hooks when not in use. These mats make great gifts for camper owners who like to cook! &  Flexible Cutting MatFlexible Cutting Mat Set Of 3   & Portable Espresso Machine Coffee gift ideas for RV owners who enjoy a shot of espresso may seem like an impossibility. But, this Portable Espresso Machine makes it totally possible! This unique gadget is small, lightweight and requires NO electricity, compressed air or N2O cartridges because it is operated by a simple piston! This travel espresso maker is so compact, it is even a favorite coffee gadget for backpackers! & Happy Camper Cocktail Napkins Camping-themed paper products are fun and unique gifts for camper owners. These Happy Camper Cocktail Napkins add a colorful touch to happy hour at the campsite! These adorable little napkins make a great addition to a retro camper themed DIY gift basket too. & Camp Casual 12-Piece Dish Set Using colorful dishes with retro RV camp scenes is a fun way to eat your camp culinary creations! The Camp Casual 12-Piece Dish Set includes a setup for 4 with dinner plates, salad plates and bowls that come in a reusable box with a handle. The BPA-free heavyweight melamine material should not be used in a microwave but it is safe for top-shelf dishwasher cleaning. Dish sets make fun gifts for the camper who has everything but can always use a few extra dishes to entertain friends at their campsite! & Camp Casual Bowl And Serving Set Classically retro camper serving utensils bring a whimsical feel to your campsite dinner table! This Camp Casual Bowl And Serving Set has the cutest pattern ever! The pattern of retro campers, trucks, cars and gasoline pumps is included on the bowl and the two serving utensils. The BPA-free heavyweight melamine material should not be used in a microwave but it is safe for top-shelf dishwasher cleaning. I call these “happy camper gifts” because the camper-themed designs are so fun AND they serve FOOD which are two of my favorite things in the world and the combination of them makes people happy! & Most people think to use silicone glasses outdoors around swimming pools but they are also great for RV camping too! Having unbreakable wine glasses during storage and transportation is awesome for RV campers … and … it is an extra bonus when they have cute camp-themed messages on them. These Camping Themed Silicone Wine Glasses make great camper gifts for wine drinkers. Cheers! &  Camping Themed Silicone Wine Glasses SetUnbreakable Shatterproof Camping Cups   & Some of the best RV gift ideas are the ones that make “work” feel more like “fun” including chores like doing the dishes! This Camping Dish Towel Set comes with two towels that have adorable graphics and favorite quotes that are used often by RV owners: Home Is Where You Park It and Life Is Better When You’re Camping which are both sooooooooooo true!  Home Is Where You Park It TowelCamping Dish Towel Set   & Retro Camping Insulated Tumbler Can RV owners ever have enough camping-themed drinking mugs? We say no! This totally adorable Retro Camping Insulated Tumbler is great for both hot and cold beverages, holds 16oz, has a lid and is microwave and dishwasher safe! This gift idea is so cute, you may want to buy one for every RV owner on your gift list! Translation: don’t make husband and wife RV owners share one 😅       & Teardrop Camper Salt And Pepper Shakers Adding salt and pepper to food gives it flavor, doing it with these Teardrop Camper Salt And Pepper Shakers does it in style! This adorable set is made of hand painted ceramic and the shakers measure 3 x 1.75 inches. With such a fun design, these make adorable gifts for camper owners who like to season their food and leave the S&P on the counter for a cute decorative touch. & The combination of these campfire cooking gadgets make unique RV and camping gifts For RV owners who are serious pie iron cooks! Square Pie Iron Cookers are the most popular pie iron shape … partially because you don’t have to “work” to cut off the crust of the bread and eating crust gives you curly hair. 😉 A Pie Iron Kickstand is a convenient resting place for hot pie irons that have just come out of the fire and need a safe place to cool down before you pack the irons into a neat Storage Bag. You can’t forget to add a fun cookbook to the mix and this Pie Iron Creations features yummy recipes like Peanut Butter Waffles, Inside-Out Jalapeno Poppers, BBQ Cheesy Chicken, Extreme Brownies … just to name a few! Pie Iron CookerPie Iron KickstandStorage BagPie Iron Creations   & Happy Camper Mug Every camper we know loves a good cup of camp coffee to get the morning started! Why not sip your java from a Happy Camper Mug designed to resemble a camper with windows, pink flamingo and propane tank?!?! The mug holds approximately 12 ounces and hand-washing is recommended. Silly mugs make funny camping gifts and there are so many designs, you are bound to find the perfect cup for your RVing friends and family members on your gift list! & These bowls are awesome RV camping gifts because they nest for storage! The totally cute design and fun colors in this Camp Casual Nesting Bowl Set makes cooking … well, just happy! 😄 The set contains 4 melamine bowls with lids and include sizes of 6-inch, 7.5-inch, 9-inch and 10-inch in diameter. I don’t know about you but these bowls make me want to bake a cake! 🍰 &  Camp Casual Bowl Set With LidsCamp Casual Nesting Bowl Set   & Heart Shaped Pie Iron Some RVers do all of their cooking inside their rigs while others venture outside to do some of their cooking using grills and campfires. These Heart Shaped Pie Irons make fun RV camping gifts for RV owners who like to add a little extra heart to their campfire “on-a-stick” meal cooking creations! 🧡💜💚   & Starry Night Coffee Mug Oooooo, aaaaah … Just picture sitting around a campfire enjoying a creamy hot chocolate from this Starry Night Coffee Mug with the retro campers scene! The Camp Casual line of mugs features different colors and designs which are 15 oz. sturdy ceramic mugs that are both dishwasher and microwave safe. Cute mugs make really fun camping gifts and they are even better when you add a touch of homemade goodness! Make a batch of our Campfire Hot Cocoa Mix and put it in a plastic bag with a decorative ribbon then place that inside your mug for affordable and unique camp gifts! & Retro Camper Pot Holder Set When we are cooking over the high heat of a campfire, we use heavy-duty heat-resistant gloves … but … when we are cooking in a gentler environment, like with our RV oven or camp stove, we use regular pot holders. Consider kitchen gift ideas for RV owners who typically cook inside their rigs like this Retro Camper Pot Holder Set which is functional and cute enough to hang for display too! & Picnic Backpack For 4 With Complete Cutlery Set, Stainless Steel S/P Shakers, Waterproof Picnic Blanket And Cooler Bag RV kitchens can be beautiful but every so often you want to change your setting for your meal. Picnic Backpacks make great gifts for campers who want to explore a bit to find a beautiful landscape setting for a refreshing picnic. You can get them with settings for 4 people or two and they come with utensils as well as a picnic blanket and cooler bag.   & Life Is Better In A Camper Mugs There are so many cute coffee mugs for RV owners! These Life Is Better In A Camper Mugs are really popular this year and I can totally see why! A set of these will make coffee-drinking RV owners agree … life is better in a camper! They make great gifts for camper owners who like to start their day with a little java jolt! ☕☕ & Vintage Trailers II Set Of 4 Coasters Hands-down … the best way to deal with sweating drinks is by using totally adorable retro RV coasters! This Vintage Trailers II Set of 4 Coasters is made from absorbent stone with a cork back to protect furniture. The set features Paige Bridges licensed artwork and comes in a printed box. Campers who like to recreate inside their rigs while also keeping them tidy (and don’t appreciate the “lived in” look, if you know what I mean😉) really enjoy RV gifts that are cute, functional and protect their RV. & 3-In-1 Folding Camping BBQ Tools Cooking inside the RV or outside over the campfire, this 3-In-1 Folding Camping BBQ Tools is one of those great multi-tool space-saving gifts for camper owners! You’ll find more gift ideas in our Campfire Cooking Equipment You Can’t Live Without post! & Life Is Better At The Campsite 32 oz. Reusable Water Bottle Camper-themed water bottles make fun gifts for RV owners … especially for people who are trying to reduce their use of individual serving plastic water bottles. This Life Is Better At The Campsite Water Bottle holds 32 oz./1,000 ml and has a silicone gasket that prevents leakage with a tight-fitting screw-on lid. Personally, I think the bright color, cute graphic and absolutely true saying make this an irresistible gift idea!    & FUN ENTERTAINMENT GIFT IDEAS FOR RV OWNERS     I’m Unplugging Hammock With Attached Carrying And Accessory Bag Relaxing is what RVing is all about! This I’m Unplugging Hammock With Attached Carrying And Accessory Bag is awesome because it keeps your beverages, sun glasses and reading material within easy reach while you are lounging in the great outdoors. When you’re finished, just roll it up and pull the string because the bag doubles as a carry bag too! These hammocks make great gifts for RV owners who want to recline under the trees rather than in their loungers inside their rigs. & Portable Campfire Ring Camping in an RV means you can set-up home almost anywhere … an awesome adventure! That also means you may not have campfire rings at every location and that is when this Portable Campfire Ring saves the day! The steel ring accommodates natural wood-burning fires and the tree cut-outs create a cool look when the fire glows behind them. When in use, the ring measures 27 inches wide; it easily folds and packs inside the included storage bag too. These camper gifts are perfect for people who enjoy campfires and also like camping in remote locations at unimproved camp spots without fire rings. & Toasted Or Roasted Card Game Set Kid-friendly games are part of the camping experience for many RV owners. This Toasted Or Roasted Card Game Set can be played with 2-6 players over the age of 6. The object: be the first player to start your campfire and toast three marshmallows but don’t forget to play defensively because “Roasty” will try to burn your marshmallows. We have more fun game gift ideas in our Camp Games: Prove You Are A Super Hero Camper post! & The Long, Long Trailer Movie Consider movie gift ideas RV owners will love! There are lots of movies about RV owners traveling throughout the country … the funny ones are the best! You know, when you “see yourselves” in almost every scene?!? 🙄🤣😉 The Long, Long Trailer Movie is a massively popular, family-friendly, hilarious comedy that will have every RV owner thinking “I remember doing that when we were new RVers!” & Trailer Life Magazine Magazine subscriptions are great gifts that continue giving throughout the year! A Trailer Life Magazine brings a wide variety of information to readers including trips, destinations, RV maintenance/repair, purchasing travel trailers and trucks and more. & MotorHome Magazine Subscriptions make great motorhome gifts for current owners or people thinking about purchasing one. MotorHome Magazine readers enjoy reviews of campgrounds and new motorhome models for all classes and price ranges. There is practical information covering things like towing and mechanical features too. & The Most Scenic Drives In America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips Part of the fun of owning an RV is taking your home-away-from-home on a road trip with jaw-dropping scenery. That’s why we always say, you’ve got to enjoy the journey … not just the destination. The Most Scenic Drives In America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips book is a great gift for RV owners who travel a lot or those who only get to travel occasionally but want inspiration to make those special occasions totally magnificent! We have more gift ideas in our RV Camping Road Trip Ideas With Unusual Roadside Attractions post! & Happy Campers Coloring Book Coloring books have always been fun for kids but now they are popular stress-relievers with adults! This Happy Campers Coloring Book celebrates the good life on the open road with 30 vibrantly detailed art activities. The quirky illustrations can be colored using markers, colored pencils, gel pens, or watercolors. An adult coloring book is a great gift for campers who need a little help slowing down (yes, I am included in that group!) & Bedside Caddy Using organizers inside an RV helps to keep small spaces clutter-free and manageable. This Bedside Caddy has multiple pockets allowing for streamlined storage of lightweight items like books, glasses and tissues. We have more totally practical ideas for gifts for camper owners in our RVing Tips For Beginners: Enjoying The Maiden Journey post. & Handheld Hummingbird Feeders So many RVers love getting close to nature on their adventures … attracting hummingbirds to the campsite seems to be a “required” entertainment event. 😉 These Handheld Hummingbird Feeders are great gift ideas RV owners will totally enjoy because they can get up-close and personal with their little flying friends and the feeders are small enough to pack neatly away without taking up a ton of valuable storage space inside the rig!   & National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (Special Edition) There are a few RV gift ideas that actually appeal to non-campers too … the National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation movie is one of them! This is one of our family’s “must watch” Christmas movies. In some strange way, every RV owner has the ability to relate to cousin Eddie in an endearing yet slightly uncomfortable way. 😳🙄😲🤣 We appreciate gifts for people who love camping that can be enjoyed with “I don’t understand why anybody likes camping” friends! 😉   & ELECTRONIC GADGET RV GIFT IDEAS Kindle Paperwhite, Waterproof With 2x The Storage Avoiding the space and weight required to carry books in your RV is simple when you use an electronic reading device. This Kindle Paperwhite E-Reader has a higher resolution display (300 ppi) and a built-in adjustable light to read in daylight or at night. Even in bright sunlight, there is no screen glare! A single battery charge lasts weeks! This latest device is WATERPROOF so you can enjoy reading at the lake, beach, pool or even in the bath! Electronic readers are great gift ideas for campers who like to do a lot of reading and don’t want to carry the bulk and weight associated with paper books. You know how bulky heavy things are the enemy of clean and clutter-free RVs?!? & Happy Camper RV PopSocket Grip/Stand For Phones/Tablets Not all electronic RV gift ideas are electronic! This Happy Camper RV PopSocket is an awesome accessory for electronic gadgets! It is a grip/stand for phones and tablets. They come in tons of different RV and camping themed designs … it is hard to choose just one! 🤩 & 4Ucam Digital Wireless Camera System Every RV owner needs an extra set of eyes when backing up the rig … unless they have a backup camera system! This 4Ucam Digital Wireless RV Backup Camera System doesn’t have a complex wire layout between the monitor and IR LED night-vision waterproof camera because it is a WIRELESS system! Both units need power, the monitor is powered by your cigarette lighter and the camera is powered by a 12-24 volt source of your vehicle’s electrical system. This is one of the more expensive RV gifts on our list of favorites … but … it is one that has the potential to save huge amounts of money when it comes to damaging an RV or surrounding property and/or people during an accident while backing up a rig. & Garmin RV 760LMT Portable GPS Navigator Navigating a travel route in an RV couldn’t be easier! This Garmin RV 760LMT Portable GPS Navigator has a 7″ high-resolution touchscreen display and provides RV-specific services. You can customize routes based on restrictions including height, weight, width and length. With voice-activated navigation, you just have to talk to it! These devices make awesome gifts for RV owners who do a lot of traveling to different destinations and like to take the local, scenic route rather than staying primarily on highways and truck routes. & DOSS Touch Wireless Bluetooth V4.0 Portable Speaker Great-sounding tunes are easy at your RV destination, both indoors and out! This DOSS Touch Wireless Bluetooth V4.0 Portable Speaker has 12 watts of superior sound quality. It packs a pretty mean punch for its size and price. It has enhanced bass and dual high-performance drivers. The built-in rechargeable battery provides up to 12 hours of playtime and it recharges in 3-4 hours with the micro USB cable which is included. You can even answer phone calls with it through its built-in microphone! These make great camper gifts for people who don’t have built-in (interior and exterior) speakers in their RV. & Goal Zero Torch Some of the coolest gifts for camper owners include off-the-grid camping gadgets that make it possible to use electronic devices without electricity. The Goal Zero Torch is one of those astoundingly awesome gizmos that has a built-in solar panel and USB port so you can charge your phone and use it as a flashlight, floodlight or red emergency light … all from the power of the sun or using its hand-crank! You can find more unique gift ideas in our How To Charge Your Phone Without Electricity While Camping post! & WEARABLE GIFT IDEAS RV OWNERS LOVE Admittedly, kids don’t own RVs but their parents and grandparents do so they come along for the adventure! Can you think of anything cuter than camping clothing for kids?!?! There are so many adorable camper gifts for tiny kids to wear like this Happy Camper Newborn Onesie, and the I Love Camping Toddler T-Shirt and the This Is My Camping Shirt that comes in sizes for men, women and youth. &  Happy Camper Newborn OnesieI Love Camping Toddler T-ShirtThis Is My Camping Shirt   & Crazy socks are always a fun gift! These fashion socks by Foot Traffic include designs featuring RV trailers, tents, campfires, trees and marshmallows on sticks ready for roasting! They come in sizes for Men and Women. We have more fun gifts for camper owners who camp as couples in our Camping Gifts Couples Will Love post! & Men’s Outdoor Camping Themed SocksWomen’s Outdoor Camping Themed Socks & Hats and camping just go together! They give protection from the sun and hide “camp hair” very well making them totally awesome camper gifts for men, women and kids! The Happy Camper Baseball Cap and the Camping Hair Don’t Care Hat and the America Distressed Baseball Cap are all really popular styles. &  Happy Camper Baseball CapCamping Hair Don’t Care HatAmerica Distressed Baseball Cap   & If you are looking for RV gifts for owners who always seem to forget to pack something, in addition to giving them a fun gift, give them a FREE copy of our checklist for camping, Ultimate RV And Tent Camping Checklist … that might be the best gift they receive! 😉 & Need More Camping Gift Ideas? Check Out These Posts! The Christmas holiday season is one of the biggest gift-giving times of year! Our Christmas Gifts For Campers And RV Owners: 100+ Ideas For This Holiday Season post is updated daily during the shopping season so you can see which are the most popular gifts of the year! & Small gifts that fit in a Christmas stocking are perfect for giving all year round! Our 100+ Camping Stocking Stuffers For RV And Tent Campers post features some of the best little camping gifts that start under $10! Some of them even start below 5 bucks and they are NOT JUNK! & Thinking you might want to do a little DIY camping gift holiday giving? Check out our Campfire Hot Cocoa post! It’s warm, yummy and makes a thoughtful, inexpensive and unique Christmas gift for people who love to camp! & Need More Camping Gift Ideas? Check Out These Posts! Personalized Camping Gifts For RV And Tent Campers Camping Gifts Couples Will Love Flag Your Camp With Cool Camping Spinners And RV Flags How To Charge Your Phone Without Electricity While Camping Solar Products For Camping Best Camping Lights For Lighting Your Campsite Best Quiet Generators For Camping Unique Camping Gifts For Men Gifts For Active Women Cute Glamping Accessories And DIY Glam Camping Ideas And Tips Camp Dutch Oven Accessories Campfire Cooking Equipment You Can’t Live Without RV Tool Kit Checklist How To Keep Bugs Away While Camping Awesome Ideas For Father’s Day Camping Gifts Fun And Unique Mother’s Day Gift Idea Guide For Camping Moms Get Fun Camping Wrapping Paper And Creative Gift Wrap Ideas here! & No time to look for recipes, create a menu and write a grocery list? No Problem! Get our 3-Day Dutch Oven Camp Menu Plan here! Our Cool Camping Products Make Great Gifts! Cutting MatMat SetShaker SetHammock & If you need camping recipes and menu ideas, you can find them here at the Camping For Foodies Camping Recipes list. Don’t miss a thing…sign up for Camping For Foodies email updates! Your purchase of our products will help support World Vision ® Building a better world for children. Pin It For Later! Pin It For Later! Pin It For Later! The post Unique Camper Gifts For RV Owners appeared first on Camping For Foodies. #RvGear #RVingTipsForBeginners #RVGifts #RvCooking #RvProducts

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[clairekatswritingcorner]

Kaito Kid’s Miraculous Night

Part One

Part Two

Word Count: 2,696

Summary: Kaito Kuroba has been searching for the Pandora gem ever since he discovered it’s possible existence and implication in his father’s death. Upon learning some rumors from his friend Akako about gems that grant people mystical and transformative powers, known as Miraculous Stones, he decides that it’s his duty to go to Paris and investigate. Tagging along with Hakuba, who happened to be going anyway due to a case, Kaito hopes that what little information he’s been able to glean is enough of a lead to help him hunt down the most interesting gems he’s had the opportunity to target yet.

Author’s Note: This piece is an intro of sorts for an AU started by @edorazzi and I connecting the Magic Kaito and Miraculous Ladybug (PV) universes. There are some examples of ideas Josie’s drawn on her blog (which I encourage you to check out), and this was my own interpretation of a possible first encounter between Kaito Kid and the Miraculous Holders. This seems like a beginning to something, and that’s because in terms of the AU it is, but I have no idea if I’ll ever have the energy or the inspiration to plan out a full fic. (ーー;) Either way, I put a lot of work into this piece and I really hope people enjoy it.

(both parts also available on my Ao3 account, found on my blog links)

Moonlight illuminated the inky Parisian sky. Stars twinkled alongside its gentle glow, complementing the radiant city lights. A lone figure clothed in striking white perched on the edge of a building, surveying the tranquil scene. He tipped his hat backwards and exhaled softly, smiling at the moon. In a way he had come to revere its alleviating light and quiet watchfulness considering it had been his silent companion in so many ways. His location wasn’t anything special, and although there were some who would argue he wasn’t either, there was evidence to contradict that. He contemplated his next move, turning from the moon to the city. A passing breeze billowed his cape as he adjusted his monocle and leaned forward, squinting  at some of the signs and buildings close enough for him to examine.

“This is pointless,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he took a seat on the building’s edge. “Akako said they liked to show up on rooftops, so here I am! I’m starting to think they really are urban legends.”

He kicked his feet, eyes straying back to the sky. “I have more important things to do, like investigating jewels!”

Only the buzz of the city replied to his disgruntled monologue, and Kaito flopped onto his back, resting his hat and hands on his stomach. He was tired, confused, agitated, and a little hungry. This was the fifth consecutive night he had stayed up to traverse the city in the hope of finding any trace of the alleged Miraculous Holders. According to Akako, they were people of dubious name and even more dubious existence who were able to utilize the power of magical gems to defend Paris from abnormal threats.

The idea of magical gems that granted people powers sealed Kaito’s decision to nag Hakuba into taking him along on his trip to Paris. Akako and Aoko had already been invited, unbeknownst to Kaito, and after the initial bitterness at being passively left off the trip’s guest list, he transitioned full force into preparing for what might be found abroad. With Akako and Hakuba at his disposal, he hoped to go into the situation with about as much information as usual. Aoko was equally likely, even if she wasn’t in on the secret, to be a capable information gatherer and keen civilian surveyor, someone who would notice the one thing everyone else overlooked.

Kaito had been fired up, ready to tackle an international clue that had the potential to wrap up at least a part of his most outstanding problems. He never planned to stop with just shattering the gem, intent on getting to the bottom of what actually happened to his father. Knocking the Pandora gem out of the equation might stir up enough trouble to get the bigwigs behind that morbid task out of the woodwork and remove Kaito’s most significant distraction when dealing with them.

He did feel a small pang in his heart at the idea that by the end of this trip, his career as Kaito Kid might be over. He had come so far and accomplished so much as Kid. He’d had so many adventures, met so many people, made so many memories. Taking up his father’s mantle had also helped him remain close to him in a way that Kaito wasn’t sure he could replace with anything else. There was a part of him that would sorely miss all of the things that being Kaito Kid allowed him to do, as well as how it made him feel. But all of that could be dealt with after he completed his main objective, and right now his leads had practically gone cold.

“Why can’t Akako just gaze into her crystal ball and find out their location or something?” he lamented, twirling his hat with his hands. “I bet she’s holding out on me, there’s something she’s not telling me. Would it be worth it to interrogate her? She’d probably get defensive…”

He sat up, resituating his hat. “Welp, I’ve still got a few more hours. Might as well retrace my steps.”

It was his only idea, and he suspected it would prove fruitless. His biggest problem wasn’t not knowing where they were, it was not knowing where it would be best to wait for them. If these people really had otherworldly powers like Akako said, for all Kaito knew they were actively avoiding him, laughing as he ran around in circles. He wasn’t the type to quit when faced with a difficult challenge, and he also wasn’t the type to go into a situation blind. He hated playing the waiting game, relying on chance, hoping that things would just come to a head in exactly the way he needed them to. It wasn’t his work ethic and, frankly, it wasn’t his style.

As though the universe had finally started listening to his mental and verbal distaste, an unusual light and crashing sounds started making a commotion a few alleys over. Kaito lept to his feet, gliding across the next few buildings before peering down to examine the unexpected scene. A fight had broken out, and it wasn’t the typical back alley brawl one might expect. Two people clad in outfits almost as peculiar as Kaito’s were bouncing around the alley like frogs, hopping and cartwheeling and ricocheting off walls in an attempt to dodge the attacks from their opponent. They, too, were strangely dressed and wearing what looked to be face paint, swinging their hands around and throwing invisible objects that appeared to actually have an affect on the physical plane.

Kaito tripped backwards, barely managing to escape the invisible object that whizzed past him into the sky. He had registered the air movement as it passed, and it’s startling explosion above him proved that there was definitely something going on beyond his comprehension. Before he could celebrate stumbling upon this unexpected jackpot, the figures from the alley made their way to the rooftops, two of them landing on the one he was standing on while the other landed opposite.

“You’re not going to get away this time!” a feminine voice barked, followed by the form of someone who looked to be wearing a ladybug themed jumpsuit. She lunged at the burly yet finely dressed person before her, their face painted in a style Kaito didn’t immediately recognize.

This opponent remained silent and knocked the girl back with what appeared to be nothing, although the force with which she was thrown and the impact indicated that she had been struck by something. Kaito rushed to her side, attempting to ensure the blow hadn’t knocked her out, but she recovered quickly and shoved him away with a strength that made him realize just how evenly matched she and her opponent were. She resumed her fighting stance before the expression on her face shifted to one of confusion, properly registering Kaito’s presence.

“What in the…who are you? What are you doing up here?”

Kaito opened his mouth to respond, but the air was knocked out of his lungs as the girl tackled him to the ground. He tried to lift his head, his vision dizzy as he realized she had seemingly saved him from another invisible blow. A black streak slashed through the stars for a moment, and Kaito chalked it up to just another side effect of the sudden impact. Regaining his composure, his expression shifted into a flirtatious smirk at his savior, his sarcastic side getting the best of him before she used his face to shove herself back to her feet.

Kaito could sense she was eager to ask more questions, but the man she was currently engaged in battle with was formidable enough to require all of her attention. Kaito stood and adjusted his gloves, realizing on closer inspection that the man with the strange face paint was actually dressed as a mime. A mime who could materialize real weapons from just his movement, apparently. That was a level of supernatural mayhem Kaito hadn’t expected to come across in his search for the mysterious Miraculous Stones.

His contemplation was interrupted again as the mime launched another attack that Kaito barely dodged, his senses finally adjusting to the situation. He pulled his card gun from its holster, firing a few shots past the mime’s eyes to create just enough of a distraction that the girl was able to kick his feet out from under him. She took a few steps back herself, panting as she shot Kaito a confused look, clearly unsure of whether this gesture was enough to determine whether he was friend or foe. The fact that she didn’t immediately turn on him at least meant that in some capacity she was grateful.

“I’ll ask you again, who are you? And how did you get up here?”

“I could ask you the same thing, Mademoiselle,” the words felt interesting, smoothly rolling off his tongue. “It appears you have just as much explaining to do as I.”

The mime was seemingly incapacitated for the moment, and Kaito wondered if she had struck him with something similarly unseen to paralyze him. He took a hesitant step forward, reminding himself to not make the mistake of portraying just how anxious or confused he really was. The girl remained still, her fists still clenched and her knees still bent should she need to strike at a moment’s notice. She did seem to give off both the look and the vibe of a flamboyant vigilante or wannabe superhero, but until he knew what her connection or knowledge of the Miraculous Stones was, or really anything more about the situation, he couldn’t be too hasty.

“I asked first, and you’re not in any position to be bargaining with me,” she replied stiffly, and before Kaito could blink something knocked the card gun from his hand. He glanced at his stinging palm before returning his gaze to the girl, her stance still guarded as she absently twirled the yoyo she had used to disarm him. “I’m not too keen on getting civilians involved in my work, and I’m even less keen on letting them get away after seeing too much.”

“What are you gonna do, hypnotize me?” he replied, eyeing the toy that he was beginning to understand was a much more formidable tool than it appeared. “I promise, Mademoiselle, I mean no harm. And I’m nothing like your typical civilian.”

“So what business do you have wandering around the rooftops dressed like a snowcone?” she persisted, tucking the yoyo in her hip pouch. “Just because you’re not typical doesn’t mean you have any right to be involved.”

“I’m in the middle of an investigation,” he explained, deciding that giving her part of the truth might help ease the tension. “You might even be able to help me out. I’m a purveyor of fine jewels and unusual artifacts. I’ve been told that there are objects in this city fitting both descriptions that have piqued my interest.”

Her fists tightened at his words, and he stopped his advance towards her. “Please, you don’t have to get defensive. I’m not in league with whoever that man attacking you was. To be honest I have no idea what kind of situation I just stumbled on or who you or anyone else is. But if you know anything about those gems…the Miraculous Stones…I would be very grateful to hear whatever you know.”  

The girl shifted her weight, tapping a finger against her arm and hardening her gaze. After everything he had just seen and experienced, Kaito was sure that she was one of the people he needed to find. He had to exercise every ounce of control and finesse that he had to ensure that she didn’t dart away and return him to his cold, blank trail.

“You want to know about the Miraculous Stones…why?”

She did have some sort of information about them then…this was going to be a difficult conversation to navigate.

“Because I’m not the only one looking for them, and I want to secure them before people with bigger and badder plans than me can.” Maybe playing the ‘I’m one of the good guys, just like you’ cards would be enough to sway her judgement. “I’ve been scouting the city for a few days now, trying to find some trace of them. There isn’t a lot of time, and after what you’ve just been through, I’d say you understand where I’m coming from almost better than me.”

The girl swept her eyes up and down him, taking a step closer, though not enough that he could reach her with an arm or leg. She brushed some of her dark hair behind her ear, revealing an earring, no, a dazzling red and black stone that shined with and otherworldly scarlet glow. Kaito felt his chest tighten as he swallowed, trying to conceal the trembling in his hands. His gaze locked onto the object that had spurred him to come to Paris, the object that could possibly be the key to unlocking not only the truth of his father’s death, but also the secret to immortality, a burden that he would cradle in and summarily shatter with his own hands.

“The Miraculous Stones are safe with their holders, and none of us are interested in passing them off to some obvious Lupin wannabe,” the girl scoffed, her gentle and soothing tone contradicting the searing edge of her remarks. “If you came to Paris to steal some gems and spark some sort of publicity grabbing controversy, your journey ends here.”

Kaito was only really paying attention to half of her words, his feet subconsciously carrying him forward as he became enchantingly overcome with hope. He had seen and held so many precious and unique jewels in his hands, peering into their empty and disappointing cores with the help of the moon that still shone like a spotlight over them now. Never had he felt so close to his goal, however, considering the magic he had just witnessed with his own two eyes. He had observed gems with magical and hidden properties before, but never ones that radiated such a stunning red glow, and never ones that had actually granted their owner supernatural powers.

He knelt before her and gracefully clasped one of her hands, pressing his lips to the back in a reflexive gesture. “Mademoiselle, although they cannot compare to the radiance of your visage, I would be honored if you would allow me to borrow the dazzling gems decorating your ears.”

The girl giggled, slipping her hand out of his grasp and re-crossing her arms, albeit this time in a much more amused manner. “You really think that’s all it takes to get your hands on these? Are you sure you aren’t new to this?”

Aside from being stunningly insulted, Kaito was at a loss for how to respond. He couldn’t remember the last time his charms hadn’t worked on someone, and in the panic of being this close to the stones that had a high likelihood of being the Pandora he had spent so many months and heists pining for, he was having trouble processing what his next move should be. He cleared his throat, giving an amused chuckle in return as he rose to his feet.

“I was under the impression we had some sort of understanding, since you were kind enough to admit that you do have the stones in your possession.” He stretched out his arm, caressing her cheek with his fingers as his eyes remained pinned on the gems glowing on her ears. “What would it take for you to allow me to examine them more closely?”

The girl’s blue eyes were unreadable and deep. He could tell from her expression that she was slightly unsettled, but still firm in her decision to keep her distance from him. That was alright, just a little more persuasion, or just the right shock, and he could swipe the gems from her ears no problem. He had especially quick hands after all. He closed his eyes, his palm nestling her cheek as he inched his face towards hers.

[aleatoryalarmalligator]

My life story - part 14

7th GRADE - beginning of

A few weeks before 7th grade started for me, my mother moved out of the Welfare Apartments – as my father called them, and into Roxanne's father's upstairs. Roxanne moved into the basement. It was the same home he had always lived in. The same home she had married him in nearly 20 years before. So I imagine it was strange. He was getting sicker. I am not sure what he had. Cancer I think. His feet were always swelling up. Because he was a dying drunk nobody came around. He had at one time many drinking friends, but this is generally always what happens to drunks when they die. Everyone disappears, all the fair weather friends – unless they are family and they are looking for money. I think my mom was probably considering this situation as having potential for her own self.

I had always been afraid of Roxanne's father and I tried to stay away from him. The house was creepy as fuck, by the way. I have talked about ghosts off and on in this story of mine so far. I have more ghosts stories yet to unfold. But I will tell you one thing. This house had something very wrong in it. You just felt sick energy in this place. I mostly hung out in the upstairs room, and I started drawing. I had pretty much conquered the Alien Girls by this time. I had created a legendary fantasy map of their entire continent. We made all the places where our millions of girls could live. Fire people lived in the fire area. Tree people lived in the Forest Realm – ecetera ecetera. I ended up finding this big box of bad 70's porn in the closet. I remember finding this magazine that had a closeup of a vagina. I stared at it forever, trying for the life of me to figure out what I was looking at. It was like the eye of a disturbing space alien from an 80's television show, at least I thought so – until it dawned on me. The box of magazines disturbed me more than it made me curious, and I put the magazine away.

There was another room upstairs that was entirely dedicated to Dick's love for pornography I was told later from Roxanne. I never went in there. After a few weeks of this, I told my mom I didn't really want to be there anymore and I was given permission to just stay at my father's during the weekend until she figured out another place to stay. It was at the edge of town – closer to this wheat field area called Tammany. You always felt like something was angry and glaring at you. It just felt weird to be in this dying man's home with evil spirits.

It was my birthday on the 25th of August. I have always resented the date of my birth, because in my part of the world it's hot and dry and awful. And school starts generally if not on that very day – then a few days before or after. This means that most of my birthday presents are actually school supplies. I don't know how many pencil holders I have unwrapped. How many rulers, eraser sets. It's a little disappointing, especially when you get older and you become privy to the shtick.

On the 25 of August, 2001, in a rare turn of events, I was invited to Samantha's home for a sleepover. This did not happen often. Sam didn't really like me, so I didn't get invited over that often. Also, her father just didn't give Sam any breaks at all. He was an alcoholic lawyer (strangely, Dick whom I mentioned above had also been an alcoholic lawyer), and her life was micromanaged. Her grandma lived in another part of the trailer court, and she had nothing better to do than to call Sam from across the way every thirty minutes to make sure Sam was NEVER wasting time. Her father made her work in the garden – they had a rather large garden you could see from the highway, and with that money what he didn't pocket he put in her college savings. Samantha, as the only girl in the house was everyone's maid. She was to keep her room absolutely spotless. Her father's room and her brother's room as well. Her grades had to be 95% or higher or she was grounded. Almost everything she did would cause her to be grounded. There were times when she was staying the night at Sarah's and her father would randomly call and be yelling at her over the phone and make her come home. Her life was so unfair. I know my dad was abusive towards me at times. But honestly, I probably suffered from a lack of structure more than I did an overabundance of authoritarian rigidity.

So it was unusual that I was invited for several reasons, but I was. And it was my birthday so I thought, 'why not?' I was warned that Samantha's fourth cousin – Katie was visiting. Katie, as I was told, was actually in the class above me, but I had never paid great attention to the kids in the class above. I was warned that Katie would be rough with me. And she was. As soon as I got there, she said things like “Who the fuck are you?”. She was very tomboyish. She didn't say things in the valley girl snotty way you might imagine, but more like a trucker who you had pissed off in some dive bar somewhere between here and South Dakota. When we were playing Pokemon Stadium 2, and I was winning at Chansey Egg Catching – or whathaveyou (of course I would win because I had dedicated the previous two years to Pokemon), she called me a bitch and threw the controller at me. I didn't take this all that personal. I was told that this was just the way that Katie was towards new people. But once she liked me, she would be a loyal friend. I shrugged the whole thing off. I wasn't particularly interested in a friend like that.

Sarah-Mae really wanted me to make a good 'cool' impression of myself in our new positions as 7th graders. 7th graders are always given kind of an unfair time. I imagine this is just as true in the 40's as it is today. Everyone scoffs at them. But I mean, at some point everyone has to be a 7th grader, and there has to be a bottom to the school. Not everyone can be a senior. I probably made a terrible impression though, because my mom had these hippie tunics with wild hippie designs on them. I really liked them. I remember being so excited when my mom was packing and she gave them to me. I had always looked at them in her clothing drawer, and always thought they were really cool. They were comfortable, and they actually fit me. And they had all those colors. The rest of the school made a big deal about them though. I guess they bordered on absurd, and each day I wore them Sarah and Samantha made sure I knew that I looked really bad. Peer pressure finally had the best of me, and I put them away for good after a few months.

At the peak of drawing Alien Girls, Sarah and I decided as a group to stop drawing them. The thing was, their eyes were so large and on the side of their heads. You got the very good impression that their eyes swooped around the other side of their skulls, in behind their hair. There was no clear indication that they had a real nose and their mouths were super low. They had no cheekbones. They were designed from the imagination of an eight year old girl, and it would be hard to improve as an artist if I carried on with them. On one angle, they were drawable. But you could never make them look reasonably okay from the side, or at any other angle. Their anatomy left more questions than answers.

So, Sarah had been watching Card Captures Sakura, and I got really intrigued by anime, so we started drawing that instead. My first comic idea was pretty lousy. It was the typical three school girl deal – based on me Sarah and Samantha kind of, where they all get swept into a magic place after school and had to fight evil monsters. I was extremely jealous of Sarah's comic. On one hand, I had always been very good at designing clothes and pretty faces. My first story was no good, but overall, my story lines were more compelling and my character profiles were better developed. But Sarah had a much better concept of drawing movement and facial expressions. She could draw wings, and she could do interesting shadowing. There was something about her art itself that gave it more life than my art did. I grew pretty jealous of her art actually, and this feeling of inferiority set me back quite a few years in the long run. We kept drawing together though.

Sarah's mom moved into a new bigger home. It was an old home, not as old as mine was, but pretty old. It was at the top of the hill that I lived at the bottom of. It was next door to where that old man, Bucky used to live. The back patio looked down over a steep ledge that led one hundred feet more or less straight down  to the main road towards the end of town. You could also see the Junior/Senior high school from there (they were one in the same since the community was small). There were rumors that a native American girl had fallen to her death on that ledge in the 20's, and when I looked out the window and really thought about it, I worried that something might erode under the house and cause the building to topple down the cliff.

The house had been the Browns house, so it was a bit gross at first and had to be cleaned up a fair amount. Carol had always been good at renovating places though, so she got it cleaned up quite nicely. My niece, Sagen's uncle on her father's side had killed himself in the front yard we were told back in the 80's. So the place carried with it a sense of disaster. Most of the time it was peaceful, but there were some strange things that happened later on that I will get to at a later time.

Sarah's mom also got a new steady boyfriend. His name was Jim. He was this quiet nervous little man with a round face and a Santaesque beard. Like Carol, he was really into old antiques. He lived in this little hut thing that was part of a brick building in the back streets of Kendrick. He fixed cars to get by in a garage next to his hut. He also did some kind of work out in the woods, but I was never sure what that was. His dream was to someday go prospecting and find a rare precious Idaho gem that would set him up for life. He collected lots of old stuff. He was borderline a hoarder. There was old things all over the outside and inside of his little building. His claim to fame was that he had at one time owned one of the very first Indian motorcycles, and he had sold it to Jay Leno. So Jay Leno had come to our little town. He moved in with Carol when they got together, but he still kept his little hut.

My dad around this time started worrying that I was spending too much time around a 'liberal' adult. My father being a republican, was not too pleased with the fact that Carol was a liberal. In his mind, he seemed to think that she actually had the will and want to indoctrinate me to her political beliefs. My dad listened to conservative talk radio all day. I think in his mind, the world was getting very black and white. In all reality, Carol really wasn't the kind of person to even consider it important. And if she had any will or want to indoctrinate me with anything, I believe she would have indoctrinated me with the common sense not to stomp and speak loudly after she went to bed around 7:00 pm – insanely early, or to wipe my feet before I came into the house. Or perhaps to put my dishes away.

It was the fall of 2001 that my dad got our first computer. Up to that point, I hadn't really known what the internet was. I had heard that it existed, but given that what interested me was mostly doing things in the real world, what I could put on paper or read off one, I didn't see the point in it. My father was given a used computer from my Uncle Bob, who, given his position as a regional super attendant's super attendant, was well familiar with computers and wanted to be able to communicate with our family more. So he gave us his old Window's 98.

My dad actually went to these really corny classes, with the corniest how-to manuals on how to use the computer in the most basic of ways. We went to a local woman's house who facilitated the classes. We actually had to be told that the thing that we used to move the cursor on the screen was called a 'Mouse'. I remember as they told us this, I looked out the window, and there was a cat in their drive way torturing and slowly eating a you guessed it – a mouse. So from then on, I have always associated the computer mouse with that tortured mouse I saw that fall evening of 2001. I had used computers and all, I just hadn't known that the computer mouse was called that.

At first all I really understood was my father's email address. So I figured that you sent letters to someone every single day – that must be something you should do. I started writing my Aunt Sylvia. I didn't really know her at all. I decided to make up this fantasy tale about these brothers and sisters who all had these magic powers and had to get back their places as princes and princesses. She really liked it, and I think this was probably because, though I didn't know it at the time, my aunt Sylvia was obsessed with fairies. Her job was to design those kind of corny fairies that sparkle that people used to put on their websites or personal pages. I also looked at every single Pokemon site I could find. I distinctly remember this website with terrible graphics. You basically just put Pokemon on a frying pan and fried them up. It wasn't really graphic, and it looked more like colors smooshing together. I also found every cheat for my gameboy, and I essentially ruined the game for myself by having too much power.

Samantha had started going to chat rooms to talk to boys. I didn't see the appeal to this at all, but since Samantha was doing it, and Sarah had done it a few times, I decided to do it too. I was the absolute worst. I went into these chat rooms, and I didn't want to tell them I was a twelve year old, so I lied about my age. When they asked me questions, I told them really dumb stupid things. I generally didn't do anything productive or say anything meaningful. I more often than not, would go into a chatroom and do something like say the same stupid word over and over again till everyone in the chatroom was gone. I don't know why I did this really. Once again, power trip I guess.

When I witnessed the first pop-up telling me that we had won a million dollars, I believed it. I remember feeling shocked and almost frightened. I got up and told my father the news. He laughed and let me know that it was just an ad. Again, I also believed the Nigerian Queen who needed to funnel money into the US or something like that. I wholeheartedly believed that queen was in need of help and we would be rewarded handsomely for our troubles. I think my father wanted to believe it, but in the end knew better. I also immediately took to MS Paint. I started drawing pictures to explain my entire day. Usually just three or four moments of the day that really stood out. Like, I forgot to do my homework, or I tripped and fell. I eventually had hundreds of pictures illustrating my life. When we had gotten our first virus, my father deleted all my pictures, foolishly believing that having too many paint pictures saved was somehow the cause of it.

One of the problems I sort of caused with these pictures was – I think I must have had a lot of pent up anger and resentments for Sarah and Samantha by this time. For years, they had told me I was ugly, stupid, annoying. I had been told to shut up I don't know how many times. I felt embarrassed by my very existence. I always felt there was something wrong with me. I distinctly remember Sarah telling someone else that I was more of her dog than someone she would consider a friend. I just carried this ball of self loathing and anger with me at all times. When I was given the power over the computer, I used it to draw ugly versions of both of them. I drew Sarah with a point banana nose and tiny little slanted eyes. I highlighted the fact that she had zits like me, only her's were tiny and colorless, but I made sure that the illustration I did of her came with a magnifying glass to highlight this underlooked fact. With Samantha, I made her eyes bulgy and boyish. I made it so her brain only thought of math. Her face was spotted like a pizza. I drew one of myself – ugly as well, with chubby cheeks, frizzy hair, double chin, stupid big lips and zits as well. These pictures were mean, but I took strange joy in making them. I showed them to Sarah and Samantha. They were upset. I think Sarah almost cried. I think these pictures probably reflected a certain resentment that I wasn't even conscious of at the time. I didn't understand why they were upset. I had gotten very used to their insults. It seemed strange to me that when I found my own way of doing it back to them. I didn't have to say mean things. I could just draw it instead.

My very favorite thing to do though, was to look at anime pictures on a website that doesn't exist anymore. I can't really imagine it now, though I am on tumblr all day sometimes so I should probably not be that shocked with myself, but I honestly loved nothing better than to stare at the same twenty or so anime pictures all day. I somehow didn't tire of this at all. I remember also that I fell in love with the first – and aside from Jack the Skeleton when I was very young- only complete and total cartoon character. It was the main male protagonist on a show called Escaflowne. I never watched the show till I was way older, and I was disappointed and annoyed at the animation when I finally did see it – couldn't even finish the first episode, but for some reason just from seeing some fanart I was totally into this dude – don't know his name now and don't care to look it up. Now, as an adult, and as someone who can draw anime a little bit but doesn't want to anymore, I try very hard not to judge all the young nerdy teenagers who are in love with anime characters and go about drawing them in romantic settings all the time. I try very hard not to judge, but I generally fail and I judge them anyway. However, I have had a few times in my life when I got really interested in anime. I think those spells are over for me now – we'll see. I loved these anime pictures so much that I sometimes would check out and go home early on days when my father wasn't home just so I could have extra time to look at these pictures.

In the eyes of some, this was the beginning of the end for me. I have been addicted to the internet ever since. I found an escape ladder out of reality, into a world with unlimited information and inspiration, where the painful biting reality had lost it's edge, and I was heightened somehow into an ethereal version of the world that I could make for myself. A place where I could express myself freely, or find just about anything I needed, and somewhere that I could avoid feeling anxious. I could be a new person, or a better version of myself. I would go on and off with having access to the internet throughout my young life, but ultimately, I became an addict the second I figured this all out.

A week before our classes started at the new big school, we went to this orientation. We had this freakish man at the time as our principal. I am not the only person who thought he bore a striking resemblance to Hitler. It was hard at the time for most people not to see the comparisons. He had the same mustache. He was twitchy and tried very hard to be commanding, though it came off weak and stiff. He would follow up with nervous laughter. Much thinner than Hitler, and less angry. He wasn't Hitler. That isn't a fair analogy. It is almost never fair to compare someone to Hitler. His name was Mr. Hendrickson. Naturally, he didn't grow too fond of me over the years.

I had to give up band. I really loved playing the bass drum. Was I great? No. I was okay. I had played the instrument for two or three years. Samantha was the snare drummer, and she actually was very talented. And it was the one thing that Samantha and I had in common. She ordinarily didn't like me, but when we played drums in the back of our band practices every other day, we were basically friends just as we had been as kindergartners. I had wanted to stay in high school band, but there was already a bass drummer and he had seniority over me. Plus, he actually was talented. I was not particularly talented. Samantha was accepted as a drummer, and Sarah – who had always played the clarinet stayed in band. They tried to put me in choir – but I protested, which was understandable since the very thought of singing in a group was horrendously embarrassing to me. The eventually put me in a Study Skills class.

Study Skills was run by a very tall square headed, plain looking man who had this threatening vibe, but was probably the calmest and most boring fellow who ever worked in that school. Mr. Forestman. The only thing that seemed to get his goat was when you called him Mr. Foreskin. He was actually just the basketball coach. He just overlooked the Study Skills class as an extra detail. We were given planners. All we had to do was demonstrate that we used our daily planners and the rest of the time we could use to do homework or to chat. It was in this class that I got to learn the more juicier details of my classmate's lives, and the lives of different kids in the school in general. There was a group of boys, and a group of girls. I sat alone at the weird person table in the corner by myself and drew. He didn't like it when I drew, and would tell me to stop sometimes. I am pretty sure I didn't use any of this time wisely. I would mostly listen to them gossip. I had no idea my classmates were having so much drama. I had been caught so deep in my own Alien Girl – anime girl land that I didn't realize.

One day this crazy fellow walked into the Study Skills class. I had heard him being talked about for years of my life. Everyone said he was crazy. And yet, I had never actually taken a look at him before – at least not consciously. I wasn't even sure if he was a student or not at first. His name as people called him was Double D. His real name was Daniel. But almost nobody but a few of the more sensitive teachers called him by his real name. He had facial expressions that were always shocking. His mouth stretched across the entirety of his face. His eyes were giant and bulged and black. He never seemed to blink. He spoke in a loud overly pronouncing voice. It was the voice that someone would make if they were to imitate a geek, only more extreme. He used phrases you might hear an elderly person make. Like, you knew the phrase, but nobody in high school would ever describe something in that way. Every single thing about this guy was weird. His movements seemed unnatural. He also wore women's matching sweaters and sweater pants. And he had a cape. He wore a cape half the time he came to school. He also had one of those small cd holders you put on the mirror holder thing in your car. He wore it on his hand like a super hero. And when he went through the hall way between classes, it was really something else.

He came in this one day, and I could barely believe this guy existed. He claimed that he was psychic, and had telekinetic powers. He told people this daily. He also said he was a karate master. And he was a super saiyan. He really believed these things were true. It was weird seeing this guy. Of course I judged him, but he was alarming and I didn't feel the need to give him problems. There were plenty of people in the school and in the town who liked to pick on him. It was strange because up to that point I had been somewhat certain that I was the biggest freak. Apparently, compared to some I was normal, painfully. Double D came in when the teacher wasn't there this early evening. He challenged a boy in my class, Corey to 'BE A MAN' and to fight him to the death. Double D warned him in all loud seriousness with not a tinge of humor in his facial expression that he could explode Corey's mind. I remember Double D went on to do some kind of strange air kick. It was truly a sight to behold. Corey ducked Double D's strange movements laughing boyishly and hysterically. All the boys were laughing. The cheerleader girls in the other corner laughed nervously. I just stared on in disbelief. This was my first, and not last introduction to Double D in the years as a high school student. So this guy was the school freak. I would always be one of the weird ones for sure, but this guy would always outdo me.

I didn't really know how to feel about high school. Technically it was still junior high. And we were still taking a few classes at the elementary school for some reason. But since the junior and senior high schools were one in the same, it was strange to be in this new atmosphere. The teachers seemed a little more lenient. Teachers in the elementary school were a bit caught up in their positions. You got the feeling that they didn't trust you to be able to tie your own shoes. They were very controlling. If they had to deal with the older kids in this climate, they would have lost their minds. Between classes was pure chaos. There was one hallway and everyone's lockers were on it. For someone with the anxiety that I had, it was hard for me to even think straight. It was basically like being dunked into freezing water every forty-five minutes. I was always in a state of shock. The fear I felt when I at first could not find my locker was unbearable. It was hard to believe that I had made it this far. Roxanne and Maria had gone to school here. But it always had seemed to me that I would always be a child, and the day where I too was to do my time as a high school student would never come. Strange too, the seniors were all enormous to me still. The hallway smelled like football player sweat – quite unpleasant, random smells of perfume, books, the smell from the lunch room of the cheapest food imaginable, generally something brown in a big vat with gravy on it. And underneath that, for me at least, I could smell anticipation, fear, sex, chaos, the thoughts of thousands of people who had come before – not just the students that were there then. I was overwhelmed. It was all too much. Too many people. I figured it out somehow, almost.

The one thing I did like about this new high school thing was after school every Thursday, from 3:15 when the school bell rang till somewhere between five and seven – we got to go to Art Club. Art Club was ran by a woman named Ms. Fiske. She never really liked me all that much, but she seemed okay with me. She really enjoyed Sarah more. This didn't actually bother me, despite my inferiority issues at the time. Mrs. Fiske was extremely unstable. You could tell by the way she laughed. Her moods were up or down. She would get mad and she would frantically begin talking in a way that nobody could understand. Once a month she would scream and cry at us when we took art class. But Art Club was totally worth it. You could never really hate Ms. Fiske because she had set up a place where I sort of belonged. She was more than generous with her supplies as well. We never had to pay for anything. She brought cookies and soda, and we would listen to music and make art. The canvases were free, the paint was free, the freaking clay was free, and there was a kiln we could use and that was also free. Sarah and I would go every Thursday. Usually it would be about five to ten other students. Generally they were either older art nerds, or maybe even a football player or a girl's basketball girl who had a secret artsy side.

It was one thing I really did enjoy. Several times in my years at that school, the principals and teachers tried to ban me from being able to go to Art Club, but they never succeeded. For this, I really didn't care if Ms. Fiske secretly didn't like me or get my art. I mean, I think it bothered me later on a little. But it was never that bad because she made Art Club happen.

To be continued. And if you are interested in this and want to catch up, here are the other parts i have written thus far.

PART 13 - http://tinyurl.com/yalanq9s

PART 12 - http://tinyurl.com/yc79mw94

PART 11 - http://tinyurl.com/yc9qhj84

PART 10 - http://tinyurl.com/yb734w24

PART 9 - http://tinyurl.com/yc2t6vfw  

PART 8 - http://tinyurl.com/ybl37utq

PART 7 - http://tinyurl.com/ybvo283g

PART 6 - http://tinyurl.com/kbc9dwu

PART 5 - http://tinyurl.com/msnz4am

PART 4 - http://tinyurl.com/k9x8esg

PART 3 - http://tinyurl.com/mwp9atx

PART 2 - http://tinyurl.com/lbt6xq2

PART 1 - http://tinyurl.com/l8xbvg8

[amintyworld]

Official Reference Sheet for My DnD Gem Quest Party!

Hey guys, Minty here! I know I’ve posted a lot about my Gem Quest Campaign DnD Party, but I’ve never really explained their characters, or even the party NPCs, so this post will be a reference to that for anyone interested who wants to learn more about them! I may do a separate one for the villains if enough people are interested. Anyway, enjoy!

Also, don’t mind sending in a ask or two about them if you’re curious, I’m more than happy to answer! <3

Mind that this does contain spoilers for the campaign as a whole!

(TW: Abuse, Death, Abandonment, murder, homophobia, amnesia. Let me know if I should tag anything else!)

Scepter (Wizard/Monk, Aasimar, PC):

Family/Allies: Dawn, Goddess of the Light (Birth Mother), Abaddon (Birth Father, Assigned Guardian), Alan (Half-Brother, Guardian), Penelope (Step-Mother), Butler (Close friend), Del (Monk Teacher)

Backstory: Scepter was born the child of the Light Goddess, Dawn, and Abaddon, her mortal lover in an attempt to create a heir to take Dawn’s place as the poison Goddess Talona gave her slowly kills her. After his birth, they quickly realize he’s not immortal, and therefore not a suitable heir to replace Dawn. Despite Dawn’s protests, they send him to the Mortal Plane to live with his father, Abaddon. While Scepter grows up in a very fortunate and wealthy lifestyle due to his father’s black-market jobs, he slowly begins to find out that he’s the son of a god when he finds a gift from Dawn given for him - a magic broom. Abaddon tells Scepter his Mother, Dawn, didn’t want him because he was powerless and that he always will be. After Abaddon remarries to Penelope, Scepter begins to actively rebel against his parents and biding his time until he could leave, learning magic along the way, proving to himself that his father is wrong. After leaving, he goes to a monastery to be trained in the ways of the monks, which is where he meets one of his lifetime mentors - Del. Del taught him to fight as well as the ways of balance and how to control his power with his mind and not his emotions. 

Personality: Calm, Wise, Smart. A clear leader of the group who always comes up with plans to outsmart the enemy. Values the pursuit of knowledge and will stop at nothing to get it, which is one of his only weaknesses. He’s very driven and will stop at nothing to complete his goal. Charismatic, Scepter almost always knows just what to say, and often uses words more than violence. Level-headed, he often has to keep the others in the party in check. 

Alignment: Lawful Good

Relationship(s): Dawn, Goddess of Light (Familial, Bad)  Abaddon / Penelope (Familial, Bad)   Del (Familial, Good)   Princess Lathia of Osishri (Romantic, Warm)   

Gem (as of now): Scepter is the holder of the Water Gem, found in the Kingdom of Osishri. The Gem Spirit inside is Dewdrop. 

Other special items: Magic Broom, Campaign Magic Map (Greg)

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Prince Drive of Keri (Paladin, Human, PC):

Family/Allies: King Aster (Adopted Father), Queen Lianna (Adopted Mother, deceased?), Princess Naris (Adopted sister), Captain Elrik (Mentor), Noid/Evelyn Dior (Mentor/Birth Mother), Kane Estin (Birth Father, deceased), King Ayren (Adopted Uncle)

Backstory: After being found on the side of the road - soaked, cold, and alone, a nearby King and Queen take pity on the child and raise as their own, having not been able to have a child by blood. From the note, the only words that could be made out of the note was the word ‘Drive’, so they named their new son Drive. Drive grew up with happy days filled with fun and surrounded by love as he grew to want to become a knight and be as powerful as his father, even owning a wooden play sword he used to practice dueling with before he was ready to train. When he was nine, he traveled with his parents as a tragedy struck the kingdom - the two King’s younger sister, a duchess and her family were rumored to have been charred to ash by a dragon. As they searched for any hope of survivors, they found a small baby, the Duchess’s daughter, Naris in a trunk someone had stashed her in for safekeeping. Thus, Drive had a new adopted sister, and the two grew to become very close as the years ticked by. One evening, while going on a trip to their uncle, King Ayren’s Kingdom of Westria, the royal family was attacked by a group of horned creatures. The creatures nearly killed Drive but Lianna sacrificed herself so that he and Naris could get away to safety. King Aster was driven to a deep, depressive, grief - he blamed himself so much that he was determined to fix it and bring her back from the dead, pushing his duties and family aside and throwing himself into his work. One night he spoke of a gem foretold by legend to grant a wish, and he set out into the great unknown to retrieve it and fix his mistake. Upon his return with the gem, he demeanor completely changed into one of rage, cruelty, and manipulation. Drive was constantly fighting his own mind and his own ideas for his father’s expectations, making him feel like he was never good enough for his own father. When his father finally decided to set him on training to become the next Guard Captain in Elrik’s place, he was so excited that over the years he became numb and oblivious to how his father and more importantly, his sister changed. 

Personality: Determined, extremely protective, compassionate, and caring. Drive feels like the protector of the party, always wanting to help everyone - his kingdom, his home, his friends, and his sister. Perhaps too Charismatic, he’s too attractive and forced to wear a helmet to somewhat stunt his looks enough he won’t be bothered by random people. He can be a bit awkward sometimes and not really know what to say, but whenever he does say something meaningful, you know it’s from the heart. He’s also somewhat the combat trainer in the group in teaching both Naris and Lathia combat moves to help them. If anyone tries to mess with or hurt his sister, he will do everything in his power to take them down and make sure they can never hurt Naris again. His protective anger over his sister is his greatest weakness.

Alignment: Lawful Good

Relationship(s): King Aster (Familial, Tense), Princess Naris (Familial, Protective), Captain Elrik (Mentor, Respected), King Ayren (Familial, Tense)

Gem (as of now): Drive is the holder of the Earth Gem, found in an ancient forest women tribe founded under a God’s worship and word. Gem Spirit inside is Fern.  

Other special items: Signature Helmet

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Jango (Barbarian, Dwarf, PC):

Family/Allies: Sarnora (Mother), Grimdrak (Father)

Backstory: Jango grew up as the son of Sarnora and Grimdrak up in the dwarf mountain village. His family had a business of brewing ale, they often traded with merchants or other suppliers, since many of the towns and cities did not have the room or the money to distill ale. Jango grew up with the nickname ‘Little lion’, being one of the smallest dwarves in the entire village, yet with the heart of a mountain lion. He pushed himself day in and day out to do his part to help, and eventually over time he got strong enough to help handle the mill by himself. Overtime, his father became a massive drunk and would often end up drinking half their supply - his parents would often argue and fight late into the night. Finally, his mother had enough and kicked him out permanently - Jango has not seen him since. One day, a giant beast, one of the pack leaders of the mountain lions the village had been fighting, killed a large portion of the village overnight. Saddened, Jango set out on his own to kill the beast and save his village once and for all. After coming home with one of the beast’s teeth, he was crowned hero of the village. Now, he still works for the family business and helps his Mom run it when he isn’t out making deliveries. 

Personality: Chaotic, Unpredictable, quick to anger. When he’s not drunk out of his mind, Jango usually is quick to solve problems by fighting and violence, especially if said person does anything to set him off. He’s used to being powerful and isn’t used to being the one getting beaten down. Often the others work to reign him in, mainly Scepter. Though his ways are a bit unconventional, his intentions are mainly pure and his loyalty is true. 

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Relationship(s): Sarnora (Familial, Good), Grimdrak (Familial, Bad)

Gem (as of now): Jango is the holder of the Fire Gem, found in the kingdom of Keri in King Aster’s possession, then with Naris’s dragon form, leading to Drive joining the party. The Gem Spirit inside is Ember. 

Other special items: Bucket O’Ale

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Peanut AKA Galleria (Assassin, Dragonborn, PC):

Family/Allies: General Holly (Lover, deceased), Sasha (Friend), Undertaker (Mentor), Boss (Mentor), One (Mentor)

Backstory: Galleria began and grew up within the walls of the Cloaked castle and under the care of many of the others captured, and one of the few Dragonborns amongst the recruits. She was taken when she was barely a year old, and her village was raided, burned, and attacked. Her caretaker and mother, Connie Wilde, protected her with her life, but was too weak for the army and they were sadly separated. Connie was taken into slavery, and Galleria was taken into their army for her breath attack and poison immunities. She got the nickname Peanut from the other kids, since she was the youngest recruit taken. When she was about 6, she was put to training within her group under many of the Generals, where she met her friends Sarah and Holly. They were strong each within their own right, but together they were unstoppable. They advanced through the ranks, eventually coming under the command of the right hand herself, the ruthless Undertaker - known for sniffing out all and any traitorous behavior, being ruthless with her punishments and training and pushing all her recruits to their absolute limits just to see them waver and suffer. Though the training is rigorous, Peanut and Holly do well and support each other throughout it all. Sarah crumbled and was sent to become one of the guards of the castle, and deemed too weak to become one of the Cloaked. Holly and Peanut grew closer and bonded over watches and scouting missions. They were the perfect team to get rid of targets, and were barely ever apart. They both truly cared and loved each other, they acted as if they were dating, but they never really got super intimate or ever really made it official. They were back from a mission one day, and were hanging out in the dorm alone chatting about the mission and where they could pass by next when Peanut hugged Holly and then gave her a quick kiss. They kissed each other before, but this was the first time they risked it inside the castle - they stilled when they heard a gasp and saw Naris enter the room with their dinner, and she dropped it to the floor in shock. It didn’t take long for her to spill what she saw and when she did it was all over. Holly was tortured and eventually beheaded for her ‘traitorous’ actions, and Peanut was stuck in the dungeon on the list for her own public execution. The Undertaker, angry and embarrassed that she let a traitor slip by her grasp, she threw Holly’s beheaded head inside with Peanut to shut up her resistance and complaints, and to make sure she was hurt. This broke down her spirit and nearly broke her mind. Then, just when things seemed hopeless, the party passed by her cell and the rest is history. 

Personality: Skilled, Sly, and Smart. She can easily make her way out of almost any situation, and is highly skilled in murder and taking out targets, getting information, and leaving paractically no trail behind. Though she wears a calm and content look on the outside, her heart is badly broken and her sadness and anger over Holly still stew beneath the surface - Cloaked are taught to hide and dispose of all emotions, since they are an ‘inconvience’ and get in the way of getting targets taken care of and cloud the judgement of Loyalty. Many of the others are getting used to her casual murder talk as a solution to almost anything, and are kind of intimidated by her skill. Her tough personality hides a gentle and kind center. 

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Relationship(s): Sarah (Friend, Tense)  One (Familal, Warm), Boss (Mentor, Cold), Undertaker (Mentor, Cold)

Gem (as of now): Peanut is the holder of the Wind Gem, found in the infected village of Sewinda, that was deep in the clutches of Corruption’s control. With teh Mayor’s help, they restored and saved the village in return for the Gem. 

Other special items: None of note. 

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Princess Lathia of Osishri (Fighter, Osishirian, NPC):

Family/Allies: Prince Kyro (Brother), Queen Navine (Mother), King Garris (Father)

Backstory: Youngest in the royal family, Lathia has known nothing but the small bubble under the ocean for her whole life. Due to a curse placed in the royal family by the Sorceress Vivica, all women of the royal family must become model wives and all men trained to fight and protect - if they do not embrace these rules, on their 20th birthday they will die. This would be fine if it weren’t for the extra abilities the Sorceress gave them in return for being stuck under the ocean - elemental bending, represented by certain dyed colors in the hair of those with the talent. Thus, Navine had always been hard on Lathia and often pushes and forces her to practice and become the wife the curse expects her to be for her own survival. When her brother, Kyro, brings home Outsiders from above, she sees her slim chance of figuring out what life is really like up above, and what she’s dreamed it would be like. She sneaks around her family to the PCs for answers, and even begins to fall for a few of them. Drive, at her request, begins to teach her to fight, which after that night she practices frequently.  When Kyro gets attacked by the Sorceress Vivica on his Coming of Age day, Lathia doesn’t hesitate to save him, even when her impulsiveness almost gets her killed. The PCs save her and her brother, and help her while she’s recovering and dealing with Kyro, who’s now in a coma. Lathia finally realizes her feelings for Scepter after their night in the library, where they read until Lathia falls asleep in Scepter’s shoulder, in which case Scepter slowly brings her to bed and leaves her with a forehead kiss - Lathia was not completely asleep at the time. Upon waking up and realizing that the PCs went after the Sorceress, she packs a bag and sneaks out to save them on her own. Luckily, with her knowledge, she saves Scepter and Drive from Vivica’s spells, and Drive frees Jango from the cage Vivica threw him in. Once finally cornered, Lathia makes the ultimate sacrifice and reveals herself to fight and have them escape, not realizing her birthday was drawing near, turning her whole body to stone under the light of the moon. Her spirit quickly became trapped in the spirit waters that ran through Vivica’s lair. Once she was defeated into a pile of ash, the PCs finally met the reinforcements headed by Fernando - Lathia’s betrothed. Fernando and Kyro, now awake from his coma, go with the PCs to find the gem, and end up having to face Vivica’s Spirit Form. When they are in deep trouble, this is enough to trigger her Coming of Age and earn her own two bending abilities - water and shadow. While Scepter retrieves the Water Gem, Lathia confronts Fernando and tells him off, saying that she will never marry him. Once everyone is free and safe and the water gem is retrieved, Lathia makes a speech to her people and says that they will rebuild and make a new and better kingdom, putting her brother Kyro in charge as both the King and Queen step down. Kyro asks her why she couldn’t take it, and she tells him that she’s leaving, that she wants to explore this world, find new discoveries for her people, and help make sure that the PCs don’t get into too much trouble. He lets her go, telling her to keep her necklace their mother had given all of the royals in case they were ever kidnapped or lost, as a memento of them, and to lead her home. 

Once joining the party, she helps take down some of the Cloaked by charming and pretending to love them, a skill she’s sadly learned well with her years being in a forced relationship with Fernando. With a little encouragement from Drive, Lathia confesses to Scepter that same night, and they share their first kiss. When Scepter’s Dad makes a deal for a date with Lathia in return to give them the means of finding Naris, Lathia quickly agrees and Scepter saves her from being trapped and mind controlled by his own father. That night, they promise each other to not be reckless, to be safe and to always be there for each other. Once retrieving Naris, she begins to look after the girl a lot when the others are out, and gets to know her and care for her like one of her own. She almost loses Scepter, Drive, and Peanut when Corruption nearly kills them while inside their gems, leaving Scepter hardened, traumatized, and nearly emotionless. She tries her best to be there for him and comfort him, giving him space and time to heal. Even though she doesn’t completely understand what he went through, that doesn’t change the way she feels and her love for him.     

Personality: Strong-willed, Optimistic, Loving. She’s almost like the embodiment of the ‘He’s a little confused, but he’s got the spirit’ meme. She’s learning how to use a sword and get a grip on her new powers, still, she’s a very strong fighter. She can be a bit awkward at times, especially with her first real relationship with Scepter, or when she panics in stressful situations. She’s thoughtful and rarely ever jumps in headfirst - only if others are in serious danger. Despite her rocky relationship with her family, she still loves them and her Kingdom with all her heart. 

Alignment: Lawful Good

Relationship(s): Prince Kyro (Familial, Good)  Queen Navine (Familial, Neutral)   King Garris (Familial, Neutral)  Scepter (Romantic, Warm)

Other special items: Explorer’s Journal, Golden Jewel Necklace

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Princess Naris of Keri (Fighter, Human, NPC):

Family/Allies: Prince Drive of Keri (Older Adopted Brother/Mentor), King Aster (Adopted Father), Queen Lianna (Adopted Mother, deceased?), King Ayren (Adopted Uncle), Duchess Diana of Saxon (Birth Mother), Duke Bryce of Saxon (Birth Father), Captain Elrik (Family Friend)

Backstory: Naris was born the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Saxon, one of the few shared branches between Keri and Westra, and a peaceful region near the mountains. Sadly, tragedy struck all too quickly during a dragon attack, leaving the Duke and Duchess’s year old daughter as the sole survivor, locked in a chest and saved from the burning flames. Around a few months later King Aster and his adopted son Drive are sent to look for survivors once they hear the news of the attack, and find the child, taking her under their care and adopting her as their own. Sadly, tragedy struck only two years later with the death of Queen Lianna. The Queen’s death threw King Aster into a deep depression from grief and self-blame for her death, making the two sibilings closer and closer over the years as they help to support each other, especially after their father left to find one of the fated magical gems of legend and bring their Mom back to life. Upon his return, it didn’t take long for him to change into something more darker, putting pressure on, manipulating, and abusing his seven year old daughter. He swore her to secrecy and made her so scared of saying a word by promising if she did, Drive would be next. While Drive grew older, trained with Elrik and got better at fighting and becoming a better leader for his people, Naris’s spirit broke day by day as she tried her best to squeeze into her father’s mold for her, getting punished for even the smallest mistakes. Eventually, she fought back and grabbed her father’s sacred treasure - the glowing gem he’d returned with so long ago - and tried to break it and have it release its hold on her father somehow. Her father, angry, stabbed her on the side as she leaped through the window and made it into the woods. There, the gem began to speak with her, asking her what she wanted and promising her every wish and desire. Determined to finish the fight against her father and end his torture and hold on her once and for all, she wished to strike fear into her father’s heart, and turned into a fire-breathing dragon. She stormed the palace and tore it to bits, searching for her father to teach him a lesson, but eventually was stopped when the party pulled the gem away from her with the help of her brother, Drive. After some celebration, she convinces Drive to join the party.

She gets in over her head when she tries to prove she can make it on her own after some of the party call her ‘useless’, which ends up getting her into trouble with the forest tribe. After primsing she’d be more safe, the party gets kidnapped by the Undertaker that night and the truth of their father’s abuse is finally out in the air thanks to her. When the Undertaker realizes they’re kinda strong, she takes Naris and runs off, kidnapping her. She takes her to the Cloaked Castle to become her obedient servant, slave, and pet - torture increases for every act of rebellion, every mistake. Eventually they wear down her spirit and mind enough to somewhat brainwash her into forgetting Drive and her family entirely, believing that she’s the Undertaker’s daughter and calling her ‘Mother’. Once saved, things between her and Drive are tense to say the least, but slowly are making their way to somewhat normal and are trying their best to openly talk about what happened with their father instead of just trying to forget it. 

Personality: Strong-willed, confident, pure of heart, but sometimes a bit reckless. Still learning to fight from her brother and now Peanut, she’s determined to succeed and set things right for herself and make sure she’s never as weak or vulnerable as she was with her father, she promised herself that she won’t stop fighting, that she’d never give up fighting against people like her father. She has doubts about herself and her abilities due to her abusive past, and she struggles talking about it with her brother, who blames himself often for the abuse. Though she’s grown up very fast mentally, there’s still a bit of childlike curiosity and wonder to her about the world around her, and just topics she never got around to learning about on her own. She gets nightmares a lot and can be a bit averse to any physical contact at times due to her trauma. All in all, she still tries to see the best in people, and uses her adapted survival skills and tactics built up from her past to help get out of jams. 

Like her brother, she’s also very protective of those she loves and would do anything for them, and she cares about them deeply, often being the ones to heal them with her own healer’s kit after taught fights or battles. 

Alignment: Neutral Good

Relationship(s): Prince Drive of Keri (Familial, Close), King Aster (Familial, Cold), Peanut (Mentor, Respected), King Ayren (Familial, Tense)

Other special items: Pink Ribbon, Old Photo, Wooden Play Sword, Healer’s Kit

-----------------------------------------

Noid AKA Evelyn Dior (No Determined Class, Human, NPC)

Family/Allies: Kane Estin (Husband, Deceased), Jane Dior (Mother), George Dior (Father), Rose (Close Friend), Ketin Estin (Son, Deceased?)

Backstory: Evelyn Dior was born into the rich family of the Diors, famous jewelry makers. Her home life was extremely strict as she was taught what to do or say, and was quickly groomed into a ‘well-mannered’ lady in rich society. Though, she was not happy with the lessons or the awkward dinners between her and her betrothed, who was nine years older than her. One day, when learning about the business from her father, she met Kane - one of the miners who worked in getting the metal they needed to craft with - and they became good friends, then best friends, then romantic feelings began to bloom on her 18th birthday. When she finally confessed her feelings and was about to kiss him, her father broke it up and fired Kane, saying that he’ll make sure that he would never see his ‘little angel’ ever again, not if he could help it. He beat up Kane and quickly left. That argument sparked the final match to get Evelyn to leave her family for good and start a new life with Kane. With the help of her servant as well as best friend Rose, they snuck out before sunrise, leaving practically nothing behind.

The two quickly got married and Evelyn changed her last name from Dior to Estin, to officially leav her old life behind. Life was good and eventually they started a family together, Evie pregnant with their first child. Unfortunately, the child was not strong enough to make it and began to slowly die as Evie just lies in bed, writhing in agony as the couple just cries and mourns their dying baby. Desprate, Evie summons a demon named Hragroth and they make a deal - the demon gives her a black stone to help save her child in exchange for the sacrifce of her eye. She agrees, and her child is saved. Kane finds out she did something and confronts her, leading to a bit of an argument between the two, and eventually Kane says that if she really had no other choice, he’ll stand by her. Their son is eventually born a few months later and is named Ketin, after his father. 

While Kane is at work, Evelyn begins to have odd moments with the baby in her arms or playing in his crib - she’ll just try to grab him or snatch something off him, something she couldn’t quite describe, or sometimes even hiss and growl at him, making him cry and snapping her out of it. Other times, she’ll act a bit off around Kane, and once he caught her sleepwalking and trying to throw their child into the burning coals of the fire. She goes to get rid of the stone but when her child is snatched from her arms and taken, she uses it without hesitation and straight up murders the baby-snatcher in cold blood with these dark tenticles coming up from the ground. She saves Ketin, but the townspeople see the whole thing. They accuse her of witchcraft and conspiring against the town, and despite Kane’s protests that it isn’t true, even he’ll admit he’s starting to become scared of his wife. 

One night, the town organizes a riot and begins to burn down Evelyn and Kane’s house, both still inside. Luckily Kane smells the smoke and gets them to safety, not before proclaiming that she needs to let them burn her at the stake and get rid of the demon inside of her, saying that it will be better for Ketin’s safety and the safety of the town, and he even calls out to them as they begin to march toward the two with torches and pitchforks. Evelyn finally goes completely berserk and murders nearly the entire town trying to escape with Ketin, a letter attached that she scribbled ‘Drive and take to the Diors’. She rushed through the rain and lightning as they chased her up a cliff, clutching her child close. She falls off the cliff, the black stone shattering into four pieces to become a part of the four phrophecy stones. The basket holding Ketin flies through the air and eventually lands toward the road, to be picked up by King Aster and Queen Lianna who couldn’t have a child of their own - calling the child ‘Drive’ since that was the only part of the note they could make out in the smeared and wet ink stained paper. 

As for Evelyn, she hears her husband cry out “NOOOO” as she falls, hitting her forehead against a rock and leaving her memories fuzzy. The ‘no’ turns into Noid, which she assumes her name is when she wakes up in a ravine, hurt and bleeding. 

Found by Scepter, who became her first friend and confidant, who asks about her past and makes her get kind of really upset, though he eventually forgives him. Recently, she’s realized she lost her baby and wants to find it because she misses it and doesn’t know what happened to her baby.  

Personality: Defensive, erratic, has good inetions and a good heart. Speaks in third person. Craves friendship and companionship. Hates talking about the past because ‘the bad memories hurt’. Hates all the Cloaked, thinks their parctices are wrong and wants to get rid of them all and stop their reign of terror. Is not much of a fighter, but will fight if she needs to, is more on the fighting tactic side of fighting. Being sheltered in a cave for years, she loves to learn what’s changed in the time she’s been gone. Always a bit of a wild card, Noid just wants to make friends and kick butt. Fun fact - she’s eaten a mostly vegetarian diet while living in the cave, but just discovered meat and loves it. 

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Relationship(s): Kane Estin (Romantic, Close), Jane Dior (Familial, Cold), George Dior (Familial, Cold), Ketin Estin (Familial, Loving Protector)

Other special items: Locket