#it starts with the crocodile and it goes downhill from there

[miraculouswolf99]

Forest Wolf Academy Idea

I formed this idea after I read a Miraculous fanfiction where Marinette transferred to a school for magic along with Chloe, Nathaniel, Marc, and her brother. At the school already is Felix and the Quad kids. The magic schools are actually for those that are members of witch covens and you must be a member of the coven to join the school. Luke and Juleka are also witches but in a different cousin. Marinette and the other transfer because of Lila. Adrien soon joins them at the school as well. I also got inspiration from the anime Fairy Tail.

I loved the concept of it so much that it gave me my own idea. My idea if an Adrien-focused story since he is my favorite character and always will be.

My idea started after Miracle Queen. Because of Chloe working with Hawkmoth and because Lila had turned so many of Marinette's friends against her, her parents transferred her to an art school so that she can focus on her designing. The only ones that stayed her friends were Adrien, Nathaniel, Kim, Alix, and Juleka. Outside of the class, she had a lot more friends, but her parents wanted her away from Chloe and Lila.

Adrien's dad still makes him model with Lila despite how Adrien and the staff are always telling him that she is the worst model ever. She never shuts up with her lies, never poses as she is told to do, and is basically also sexually harassing Adrien as well. She drives them all crazy.

But then one day during another photoshoot, Adrien hears some music and is drawn toward it. The music is like a siren song that he does not notice that only he can hear. When he arrives at the source of the song, he finds an old friend of his, Lyon Garden. Lyon and his twin sister Vallia are friends of his that he met in Greece when their family hosted a charity fashion show at their family's nature and animal sanctuary. Adrien had gone there with his parents a year before his mom vanished and he kept in contact with them the entire time.

Lyon and Adrien are happy to see each other, Adrien spilling his guts about everything bad going on. Especially all the things with Lila and Chloe. And Lyon gives him an extraordinary opportunity. The reason why Adrien was able to hear his magical song was because he was magical as well. A fellow witch. So, he was able to offer him a place at his school, Forest Wolf Academy.

The two of them went to Gabriel and he actually let Adrien go to the magic school. It turns out that Adrien's mom had also been a witch and that was why he was allowing Adrien to go so easily. Adrien is more than happy to accept the offer.

When Adrien goes to Forest Wolf Academy, he is amazed to see such an incredible school. Forest Wolf is not the only magic school in the world. Each school is hidden in a pocket dimension where they can be entered in any place in the world through the use of a magical key. But each school still has a main magical doorway in the home of the founder of each school. Forest Wolf's main door is in Athens, Greece.

Adrien only lets his real friends know that he is transferring. He would have told Nino, but he no longer considered him his best friend since he turned against Marinette. But given that magical people can hear Lyon's magical song, there are more teen witches in Paris than Adrien knew about. So, even after he transfers, he is actually soon joined by a lot of his true friends. Luka, Kagami, Nathaniel, Marc, Juleka, Kim, and Alix. And each of them would have their own powers that Lyon and Vallia help them learn to control.

Lyon has siren song magic. He is a real-life siren with the added abilities to control sound and music, not just being able to use his voice as a weapon. Vallia has rainbow aura magic. She is also to surround herself with different color light auras that give her other abilities like how sky blue gives her flight and ruby red helps her shoot fire like a dragon.

Adrien would find out that he has light magic, being able to control all forms of light and even be able to change into it like a human shooting star. Luka would have enchanted instrument magic, being able to do all types of things by playing different instruments while still having his natural ability to hear a person's inner song. Juleka would have a similar ability called music spirit magic, where she is able to turn into magical creature spirits that are hybrids with music like harp playing fairies or werewolf drummers. Kagami would have Requip magic, where she is able to store weapons and armor in a separate dimension that only she can access. Nathaniel would have art-to-reality magic where he is able to bring his drawings to life no matter what they are. Marc would have Fairy Tale magic where he could read from a magical storybook that he has and summon any legendary or mythical creature from it. Kim would have were-beast magic where he is able to turn into any were-creature version of any animal like a werewolf or cat creature. And Alix would have time magic, where she would be able to manipulate time around her while also being able to travel through time on her own.

All of them actually have a great time at Forest Wolf Academy and learn to appreciate and covet their magical lives even if Hawkmoth is still a problem. But he would actually have become less active lately as if he is losing motivation for trying to gain the miraculous.

Vallia would actually gain a crush on Kim and the two of them would eventually start dating. The same would go for Juleka and Alix as well as Luka and Kagami. Nathaniel and Marc would be an already established couple since they are too adorable to break up. Adrien would also find himself gaining a crush on Lyon, something he never expected to have on his old friend.

But, as per all good things, their peace had to come to an end. Magic itself was not hidden, just the people that used it. It was why heroes and villains like Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Hawkmoth all had masks when they used the miraculous.

But, the schools have come under some fire with people thinking that they were secret evil cults that wanted to take over the world. So, they all had to open their doors to people. To politicians, school field trips, and even some tours of powerful world leaders just to show that they were all perfectly normal schools that just happen to teach magic to their witch students.

Only, one of the schools that request to tour Forest Wolf Academy is Dupont High, which puts the new students on edge. Especially Adrien and Juleka because of Lila and Rose. It did not help that Lyon and Alix were very protective of their partners and would hurt anyone that tries to hurt them.

But since they have to keep up appearances as a "normal" magical school, they have to accept the field trip request. Luckily, it is the whole school and not just Bustier's class. So, there are still good students like Aurore, Mireille, and Zoé. It is only Bustier's class that believes Lila, anyway.

Adrien and the others do their best to avoid Lila and her attack dogs. They have their jobs to stop the more temperamental students from attacking the annoying group with how they obviously bully almost everyone around them. Not to mention all of the lies that keep coming out of Lila's mouth that she is related to so many powerful witches, how she is a descendant of Merlin, how her grandparents run the best magic school in the world.

There are a lot of students that wanted her head. Especially since it was known through Adrien and Lyon that she had not heard Lyon's magical song, meaning that she had no magic at all. And since magic was passed down from parent to child, that also meant that no one in her family had magic either. Not unless they were one of those families that had been stripped of their magic for crimes against the magical world.

And if it wasn't Lila causing problems with her lies, Chloe was causing problems with her attitude. And how she kept trying to force the students to do as she says and make them her slaves. Like she would go to those with ice magic and demand that they get her a cold drink. Or she would go to the students with gem and crystal magic and demand that they give her the biggest diamond that they can make.

Once the former Dupont students are found by the group is when things really go downhill. There is a lot of yelling about how they abandoned their friends, that they should not be so jealous of Lila's accomplishments, how they needed to get over themselves, how they needed to stop being bullies. And the group fires back that they can not abandon friends that abandoned them first, that they can not be jealous of accomplishments that never happened, and that they never talk to Lila let alone bully her.

Meanwhile, Adrien is trying hard not to be seen by Lila or Chloe since he does not want either of them hanging off his arm like they usually do. But, Lila soon locks her eyes on him and down try and latch onto him, crying her crocodile tears about how much she missed him and how she wanted him back since he "promised to date her."

That is where Lyon steps in and would be so close to using his sonic scream on the annoying liar. Adrien uses his powers to turn into light and get back to Lyon's side. That is when the two of them go into a big "why Lila sucks" speech and reveals that the two of them were dating and that Adrien would never EVER date Lila.

She is not exposed, but a new demonstration of the more dangerous powers from the students, low key threats against the annoying class, makes them never come back after they leave.

Lila hopes to be akumatized over her rage about not being able to lie her way into dating Adrien, but she does not know that Gabriel gave Marinette the butterfly miraculous and the peacock miraculous already. He gave up once he saw how truly happy his son was and did not want the wish to change his son into any other version of him that would never be this happy. It also helps that a few witches from the school that could heal offered to help him restore his wife.

#i hate lila rossi #lila salt #miraculous ladybug #i love salt #alya salt #nino salt #chloe salt #i hate chloe #original character #magic #original mythology #magic school #adrien agreste #adrien x oc #adrien deserves better

[themadlostgirl]

Tortured

*This is a long one*

Prompt: Y/N is tortured by Hook and Peter helps her overcome her fears regarding it

Requested by: anon

Warnings: language, torture

---

Neverland is not a safe place. Not for anyone. You always need to have our guard up. That’s the first thing everyone learns when they come to Neverland. It may be fun and there are no rules but that just means that it doesn’t matter what happens to you. There will be no one to stop the injustice. So you had better be able to look after yourself.

Stop looking over your shoulder for one second, think that nothing can touch you for one moment, and everything goes downhill. That’s how I ended up in my current situation.

I had been taking a walk around Neverland by myself. Humming a tune and admiring the scenery when the horde of pirates descended upon me. I fought but I was outnumbered and one well placed blow had me dizzy and unstable long enough for them to get a sack over my head and ropes around my wrists.

Without any other options I shuffled along with my aching head as I was forced into a row boat and paddled out to sea. I was hauled up into the air and dropped on the wooden planks of a ship. I was on the Jolly Roger. Why though? Why did the pirates bring me here? What use could they have for me?

I was tugged back to my feet and dragged away again. Directions were wonky right now but knew I had been taken far below deck. I couldn’t feel the sun on my shoulders. This is getting worse and worse. I wriggled about trying to free myself from the rough grip on my arms but they held sure.

The pain was subsiding and I had regained my senses enough to fight back harder. I landed a kick on one of them and had wrestled one of my arms free before I was pushed down on something hard. It took many hands to pin me down and keep me tethered to the surface I was forced on.

“Hood off,” I heard a voice say.

The sack around my head had been yanked off. I squinted into the semi-darkness and up into the face of one Captain Hook. I hadn’t had many interactions with the pirate captain but I didn’t need to to know that I was really up a creek now.

“Hello, Y/N,” he said, “I’ll cut straight to the chase. I want information about your demon leader. You can either tell me what you know now before the bad things happen or I force it out of you with the bad things.”

“You gonna torture me, captain?” I rolled my eyes. “I can cope with torture.”

“Thought you would say that.” He pulled out a jug and looked at another pirate hovering on my other side. “Do it.”

A sack was forced back over my head but it was tightened so it pressed flat against my face.

I was ready for a lot of pain. Cut my skin, break my bones, bruise my flesh, I was ready for it all. I could cope with pain. This wasn’t any of that though.

Water was poured over my face--the sack. It clung to my face like a second skin. I gasped for breath but I couldn’t find any. I couldn’t breathe!

I strained and struggled against my bonds with all my might. I need to get out of here! I need to breathe! I can’t breathe!

The sack was yanked back far enough that my mouth and nose were free. I gulped in air, coughing and sputtering as I cleared the salt water from my throat.

“Tell me what you know about Peter Pan.” Hook asked. His voice was too calm for my liking.

“You are an absolute bastard.” I spat.

The hood was drawn back over my mouth and another pitcher of sea water poured over me. I struggled and kicked wrenching my head from side to side in an attempt to escape.

“Tell me what you know about Peter Pan.” Hook repeated.

“Go to hell!”

Another wave of water. I forgot that I wasn’t really drowning.

“Tell me what you know about Peter Pan.”

“No…” I croaked.

More water. I couldn’t tell if it was the salt water or my tears stinging my eyes.

“Tell me what you know about Peter Pan.”

“Stop...stop it…”

I’m drowning...

“Tell me what you know about Peter Pan.”

“Please. Please stop.”

I’m drowning.

“Tell me what you know about Peter Pan.”

I can’t speak. I can’t breathe. I’m beneath the waves.

“Tell me what you know about Peter Pan.”

Peter...help...

~~~

Peter landed on the deck of the Jolly Roger with murder in his eyes. Word had gotten back to him that the pirates had taken Y/N and he was not happy. Not one bit.

The pirates on deck advanced on him. He blew them back with his magic. He grabbed the nearest one and poised his dagger against their throat. “Where is my Lost Girl?”

“Below,” the terrified pirate whimpered.

Peter dropped him and ran below deck. He found Y/N but she was tied down and a sack was wrapped around her head. There was still a shallow rise and fall of her chest so she was still alive but it didn’t look like she was conscious.

Hook turned and immediately drew his sword. He had it aimed directly at Y/N’s heart. “Not another move or the girl gets it.”

“Let her go now or I’ll do something you really won’t like.” Peter warned.

“Like what?” Hook smirked.

Peter brandished his dagger in one hand and a fireball in the other. “You kill her and I’ll kill you with no hesitation. Try and get your precious revenge on your scaly crocodile when you’re sleeping with the fishes.”

Hook sheathed his sword again. Smart move. Peter cut through the bonds holding Y/N and removed the sack from her head. She was alive. That’s all that mattered right now. He shot a look at Hook and commanded him to sail them back to shore.

Begrudgingly he did as told and left Peter to look after Y/N. She was so cold. “It’s alright,” he whispered to her as he used his magic to warm her up again, “I’m here. I got you.”

Y/N was still completely out of it by the time Peter got her back to camp. He had done all he could do at the time and now she needed rest. He put her down in his tent so he could keep a better eye on her.

All was still. Most of the camp had retired for the night and Peter was getting himself comfortable when Y/N finally woke up. Well, he said woke up but in reality she snapped awake as if she had been struck by lightning.

“Y/N!” He rushed to her side, “Calm down, it’s alright,”

“Breathe!” she gasped, “I can’t breathe!”

“Yes, yes you can,” He gripped her shoulders, “Look at me. Deep breath. You’re not in danger.”

“I can’t--” her eyes were blown wide open but there was no one behind them, “I can’t--can’t--”

“Shh,” he placed a hand on her chest and channeled his magic into her. “You’re gonna be fine. Stay calm.”

“Peter?” she blinked as reality started to return to her.

“I’m right here. I got you.” He assured her, “Look right at me. You’re safe now. You’re back in the camp.”

“Peter…” tears started to leak from her eyes and she collapsed into him as her body was wracked with sobs. “I couldn’t breathe...I couldn’t do anything…”

“Don’t speak, you’re in shock.” he whispered but she ignored him.

“I was drowning. They were drowning me.”

“It’s over now. I won’t let them get to you again.” He held her close until she stopped shaking. “Get some rest, you’ve had a trying day.”

“Stay with me?” she whispered as drowsiness started to overtake her again.

“It wasn’t a question.” he laid her back down and she was fast asleep once more. Peter stayed awake all night watching over her as she slept. She didn’t wake up again but she would tense up and her breathing would become labored at which point he pressed a hand to her head and banished the nightmares creeping their way in.

Seeing her like this was heartbreaking. She hadn’t done anything but be a Lost Girl. Hook would pay for this.

The subsequent days after her torture were hard to watch. After such a traumatic experience it would be normal that she would never be quite the same as before. She wasn’t just shaken though, she was a husk of her former self. She didn’t speak or look at anyone. The only one she got close to acknowledging was Peter and it took a lot of prodding. He figured the only thing he could give her was time and a shoulder to lean on while she coped with her trauma.

She looked to be doing better after a while. She was smiling again and talking with the boys again. Even some of her sass had returned. Peter was sure things were turning around.

They were taking a walk around the island and ended up on the beach. Peter was halfway down the sand towards the water when he noticed Y/N wasn’t next to him. He turned around and found her back on the edge of the jungle. They thousand yard stare had returned.

“Y/N?” he ran back to her. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Her hands were shaking and her breathing became labored. Her gaze was set past him staring out across the horizon.

“Y/N?” Peter finally broke her gaze away from the water. “What happened? Why did you--”

She turned and bolted back into the jungle without any explanation. He followed after her and found her huddled at the base of a tree crying so hard she was close to hyperventilating. “Hey, hey,” he knelt next to her, “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t breathe!” she grasped for his arm, “I can’t breathe!”

“Shit!” he hissed and used his magic to calm her mind. When she stopped shaking so violently he asked her what had happened. Why did she run away from the beach?

“I thought I was okay,” she murmured, “I didn’t think it would affect me like that. But the smell and seeing all of it I just--just--”

“What are you talking about?”

“The sea.” her voice was hoarse, “When I was on the ship he made it feel like I was underwater. I was so sure I was trapped under the sea, crushed and helpless beneath the waves.”

Peter didn’t know what to say. What could he say? Was there anything he could do to help her troubled mind?

“I thought I was going to die.”

“I’d never let that happen,” He held her tighter, “And I’ll help you with this.”

“Help me?”

“We’ll work on it. Make it so you never have to be scared of the sea again.”

“Can’t I just never go near it?”

“You could but that’s the cowards way out. You, my Lost Girl, are no coward.”

“We don’t have to go back today though...right?”

“No. Not today.” he assured her. “But we’re not dropping the subject either. Come on, let’s get back to camp.”

Peter had made empty promises before. Lies to get people to do what he wanted. This was not one of those times. It took weeks, months even, to get Y/N back into the sea.

It started out with them simply going to the beach. Looking at the water from a safe distance. Peter made sure to keep the sea especially calm during this time. The ocean was like glass while he was with Y/N. Still she would turn into a statue and refuse to edge any closer. Most of the time he had to let her go to collect herself as memories resurfaced.

He was patient though. Pushed her only when he thought it was a good day. Eventually the sight didn’t haunt her anymore. At least not to the point where she broke down into a complete mess. Getting her into the water was another story.

“Peter, I can’t.” she backed away from the waves lapping the shore, “I can’t.”

“You don’t have a problem going in the ponds around the jungle.”

“Those are small and full of fresh water. This though…”

“I’ll be right here with you.” he took a step into the ocean, “Give me your hand.”

She shook her head.

“You’ll never get over your fears if you don’t face them.” he stretched his hands out to her, “You can do it.”

Hesitantly she grabbed hold of his hands and took a small step towards the water so it licked at her toes.

“That’s it, a little more,” he pulled her gently so her feet were submerged. “See, nothing to fear.”

“Does that mean we can stop?”

“Not yet,” he took another step back into the water. “Look right at me. Don’t look at the water, just keep your eyes on me.”

“I can’t do it!” she tried to run but he kept her in place. “Let go of me!”

“Y/N, you can do this. It’s just a little water,”

“Peter, please,” she begged.

“Take one more step, just one more step today.” he waited as she stopped struggling. “Can you do that for me?”

“I don’t wanna drown,”

“I swear on my life that I will never let you drown. Now let’s take that step.”

“Okay,” she took a deep breath and followed him into the water. Slowly, one step at a time until it was up to her waist. She was clinging to him, hiding her face in his chest as the small waves rocked them.

“You’re doing great,” he rubbed her back tenderly, “You’re in the ocean and everything is okay.”

“I’m okay?”

“Yep.” he couldn’t help but chuckle as she lifted her head up and looked at the expanse of water surrounding them.

“It’s not...bad…” she ran her fingers through the cool water.

“I knew you could do it.” he smiled at her.

“Thank you, Peter,” she whispered intertwining their fingers together again. They stayed there breathing in the salty sea air as peace returned. It would always be an uphill battle but at least for now his Lost Girl was safe and she wasn’t scared. That was enough for him.

“I got you,” he whispered, “I got you.”

#ouat peter pan #peter pan ouat #ouat #neverland #peter pan imagine #peter pan x reader #request

[theonceoverthinker]

Congratulations on the milestone, lovely! How about Captain Swan: one of them tries to make dinner to surprise the other and basically everything goes wrong. Have at it! ;)

You got it, Dani! Thank you so much for your patience!!! I hope what I made for you was worth it!

()()()()()()()()()()()()

It was supposed to be a simple meal.

It wasn’t like he was preparing a roast duck or a soufflé.

It was just grilled cheese.

Granted, it was a very fancy grilled cheese, prepared entirely from scratch, as well as a red sauce to dip it in, but the task wasn’t supposed to be this unmanageable.

Killian had planned it all out.

He had worked on his in-law’s farm, gathering up the ingredients. Snow had warned him of the difficulty of the task he presented to her, but with her state of awe from hearing about the lengths Killian was going to for their second anniversary dinner, she hardly put up a fight.

He had stocked up on wheat from the fields, milk from the cows in the barn, and tomatoes from the garden. The harvesting, while leaving sweat upon his brow, went as expected.

Once everything was collected, over the next few days, while Emma was out on her shifts, Killian was at work making the raw ingredients into their final forms. He ground the wheat into flour for the bread using a coffee grinder.

He mixed the ingredients of the cheese together and allowed for it to curdle in the refrigerator as the cookbook he got from the library had instructed.

The tomatoes had been kept intact. Killian figured it best to wait until the day of the dinner itself to prepare the sauce.

As Killian toiled, he made sure that everything was hidden discreetly so that Emma wouldn’t suspect a thing.

Then finally, the day arrived.

Coincidentally, that’s when everything began to go downhill.

Exhaustion from his shift the previous evening had had him oversleep and miss Emma entirely that morning. He had to send his invite to dinner over text instead, and that could only be so romantic.

Downtrodden, Killian went downstairs for a cup of coffee.

That’s where he saw a sight as horrifying as a bloodied battlefield.

There was a tray of what were very clearly homemade cookies on the table.

Killian ran to the pantry.

The flour was all gone.

Every last bit of it.

He looked at the cookies. They looked fresh, the chocolate on the top gooey and shiny. He then noticed that there was a note on the side. He picked it up and read it.

‘Sorry I missed you! Here are some sweets to hold you over until tonight! Love you!’

Killian’s heart fell. It had taken a lot of labor to make that flour. And now it was all gone, albeit with the best of intentions from his wife.

He shook off the problem as best as he could. It was okay, he told himself. He’d just go to the supermarket and get some store bought flour. Sure, it meant his meal wouldn’t be a hundred percent homemade, but he and Emma would laugh it off later after he told her of his plans over their meal, and how theirs had collided.

An hour later and things were looking back on track. Killian bought more flour and had returned to the house and started preparing the bread. Everything was in the oven. In just a few hours, he’d have fresh bread. The kitchen was a mess, but he’d have plenty of time to clean it up after getting a start on the other two parts of the dish.

Killian next opened the refrigerator to begin on the sauce. A look in the pantry beforehand showed that he still had all the spices he’d need to make a delectable concoction for which to dip the grilled cheeses in.

This would go perfect at least.

…Or not.

The tomatoes were still present, but one touch showed them to be as deflatable as a year-old baloon.

And the smell…

The dead carcasses below which he hid before meeting Emma smelt sweeter.

Killian immediately ran over to the Charmings’ farmhouse as fast as his legs could carry him, barely even remembering to lock the door behind him as he did. He was ready to pass out by the time he got to the door and was only able to rasp out his request for more tomatoes to David through labored heaves for air. David forced him to sit down and drink a glass of water before answering his cry.

It was a bad crop, David explained, and sometimes they happen.

But why did it have to be this one?

Somewhere in between groans of exasperation and bits of yelling about a loaf of bread that was in the oven, David offered him a ride to the supermarket to get more tomatoes. They were off within minutes. In another fifteen, they were there.

The tomatoes, however, were not.

There was not one full-sized, cherry, or even frozen tomato there.

Killian was starting to get annoyed. David suggested something called Ragu, but upon hearing that it was processed in a factory, he shot the idea down like a hunter shoots down a duck. David, though clearly reluctant to let the prospect of simplifying their task go as easily as Killian, ended up doing just that. Killian was willing to wager that if was on some level due to awe of just how far he was willing to go to give Emma a sublime anniversary meal.

And so they went searching for another place that would have tomatoes, calling friends and family alike to see if there were any that could be used with the promise of compensation as they drove. Alas, there was no luck.

Eventually, after over an hour of searching, the two came across a farmer’s market, one that David had not heard of yet, that they found a package of tomatoes up for sale. One purchase later, and they were on the road once more, this time heading for the house. David dropped him off, warning him not to go too crazy over this meal, before wishing he and Emma a happy anniversary and heading out.

As Killian headed towards the house, he released a sigh of relief. The day had been rough, but he was going to conquer it.

He opened the door…and was greeted by a puff of black smoke.Killian realized in that instant that in his efforts to procure tomatoes for his sauce…he had neglected the bread.

He ran to the kitchen, thanking every God he could think of that Emma and Henry weren’t home. Another puff of smoke was thrown in Killian’s face as he opened the oven up on his quest to remove the charcoal-covered loaf. As he opened the windows to rid the house of both the smoke and the burning smell, Killian looked at the watch Emma had given him. The bread should have come out nearly an hour ago.

Emma liked little burnt edges on her grilled cheese, but this was excessive.

Killian didn’t want to tempt fate by looking at the cheese in the refrigerator, but out of some blind stubbornness to salvage his plan, he begrudgingly did so.

One whiff told him all he needed to know. The cheese had spoiled.

Killian looked around the house There was still smoke all around, charcoal in the air, and dirty, dough-filled dishes in the sink. Not even the bloody crocodile could fix this mess. This dinner was beyond hope, beyond miracles, beyond divine intervention of any kind!

And it was just at that moment that Emma walked in.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

“Pizza’s…like a grilled cheese,” Emma said, mouth half full of a slice of the modern delicacy. Killian put the palm of his hand to his head and groaned. Emma sank into his side. “Ohh, you did your best.“

Hours had passed. An anniversary that was supposed to include a romantic dinner instead had Emma and Killian in their worst outfits as they cleaned a kitchen that could charitably be called miserable-looking. It wasn’t even done, but they had decided that a break for pizza and a movie had been earned.

“I just wanted to give you the night you deserve,” Killian lamented, his hand massaging her arm.

“Could’ve been worse!” Emma simply shrugged her shoulders, as if it was no big deal that her husband had increased her workload ten fold!

“Really?” Killian questioned. “Worse than spending your anniversary scrubbing a kitchen down from top-to-bottom?”

Emma smirked at him. “You realize we live in Storybrooke, right? A place where it’s not unheard of to fight a dragon, a Chernabog, and a half a dozen cartoon characters?”

Killian couldn’t help himself and smiled, choosing to answer Emma with a kiss to her temple.

“You’re right, love. I’m sorry for beating myself up over this.”

“You know, if it’s cheesy and saucy you want and the pizza’s not enough, I think I can come up with a few ideas.” She traced the collar of Killian’s jacket. It look Killian no longer than a single second before he pulled her towards him, their lips but a breath away from each other.

“Well, I suppose the dishes can wait until tomorrow,” he teased.

“I think they can too,” Emma said, her eyes filled with mischief. A smirk crossed Killian’s face.

“Happy anniversary, Emma,” he whispered.

“Happy anniversary, Killian,” she said before finally closing the space between them.

Dinner may have flopped, but any time between Emma and Killian was still magical in every way.             

#dani-ellie03 #once upon a time #ouat #captain swan #killian jones #captain hook #emma swan #prompts #my fanfiction

[writing-zepher]

DnD: Chaos Campaign-S2

Okay, so here is where things get interesting. As a brief recap, Naztae was a body guard for a bard in the mountains. The village was cursed by an evil committed in the past, and clay men were put to blame. It really was an old man’s fault, so Naztae had to dig up a corpse and the curse was lifted. To celebrate, everyone got toasted.

The next day, things go downhill very fast. Like I said a thousand times before in my previous post, alcohol and charlatan sorcerer of wild magic are a bad mix. Thankfully I am still by myself during this session, but the things that happened drove me to seek out a party because everything is impossible to do by myself. 

So, after a night of partying, we start off with a Naztae hangover:

Woke up tied to a strange bed (not naked) and is extremely hung over. The room is very fancy and plush. There is a person another room, and when they come in, it is a teifling in a loin cloth. 

Apparently Naztae woke up in a brothel as the teifling, known as “The Monk”, is a prostitute. 

In Naztae’s drunken stupor, he was walking around town asking for “a monk”. The people decided to take him to the brothel and into Monk’s care. Monk ended up giving Naztae his money back as he threw up all over Monk’s bed before they got their clothes off. 

Naztae is embarrassed and flustered as this situation is usually the other way around. Monk found his reaction to be charming. 

After more talking, Naztae realized he’s not in Pika anymore. He’s actually in a another country called “Sowa” several miles away (I still don’t know how the hell he managed to do that in one night.)

Naztae tried to remember a little better. He remembered a female monk in his drunken state. 

Thanking Monk, Naztae left the brothel and immidiately gets his ass beat by two orcs (I call them chuckle fucks) who serve a mob boss by the name of Grimm. Apparently Naztae did something to piss him off.

Grimm is a piece of work by the way. He’s a halfling with an Irish accent and is literally the HARDEST person to kill. He kept demanding to give him his money back and then he had Naztae hang out a window.

Despite giving him some money (which was a REALLY hard thing to do), he is given a choice to drop three stories or to make him laugh. Naztae, with very low health, chose laugh. All of his clothes get ripped off and he’s tossed into the streets for everyone to see. 

Feeling extremely pissed and embarrassed, Naztae goes invisible and plots ways to kill Grimm.

Disguise kit: Naztae turns into a newsies Spock. 

Naztae goes to a fancy bar to cheat at a dice game. The fancy bar sucked, so he went to Pattie’s (a rowdy bar) instead. I spot a gnome playing a game of dice in the corner and he has a large pile of money on his side. Jackpot. 

Charlatans have a special trade when it comes to things that are crooked, and Naztae’s specialty is dice. He goes over to the table, and he starts winning. The gnome isn’t happy and said, “It’s time to get serious.”

Naztae decided this is a good time to switch his dice to the loaded ones. Since he is surrounded by people and all eyes are on him, he decides to start some noise in the bar to draw the attention away.

NAZTAE CASTS SHATTER 

Several people die.

A brawl starts

The military police arrive

The DM congratulates me as Naztae successfully distracted the bar patrons and switched out his dice. 

Naztae escapes through the bar and nearly lost as hand as he pick pocketed along the way, and ran out onto the streets. He turns invisible to hide from the police. The police can see through invisibility. 

Naztae runs deeper into the slums and runs into a man with a mask. Seeing as a guard was chasing Naztae, he casts crown of madness and tells him to attack the stranger in the mask instead.

The stranger in the mask was Monk, 

In a panic, Naztae looks for an innocent civilian instead. He picks a beefy looking butcher at a shop and directs the guard to attack him instead. The butcher is pissed and the guard is getting his ass beat

Monk: Why did that guard attack me?

Naztae: *crocodile tears* I don’t know. He just came after me and then he saw you. I don’t understand, I never did anything wrong in my life. The justice system is so corrupt. Please Monk, you gotta help me!

I take a rest in the brothel. Monk takes Naztae onto the roof and says Grimm is an investor of the mafia in the slums. The slums is literally under ground beneath the steampunk city. He also says the only way out is up as he looks up to the rich buildings on the upper level.

Naztae asks if he can escape, but Monk said he uses the money he makes to improve the home he had in the brothel. Naztae makes a special note to help him out when he can. 

Something is going on in the streets. Monk quickly tells Naztae to hide. There is a hole in the wall. He fails athletics and fell into someone else’s bathroom. He has the option to go back down the hole, but he hears noises coming from the other room. 

Naztae peeks in and sees a green butt on the bed. It was one of the orcs that beat the hell out of him and he was busy with one of the prostitutes. An opportunity to loot is always a good opportunity. 

Naztae rolls for stealth to use mage hand to pick up the orc’s coin purse.

CRITICAL FAILURE! SURGE TABLE ROLL IS 60!

The shelf is knocked over and the orc and his prostitute see Naztae crouching by the door. At least he got his lowest spell slots back.

Naztae closed the door and tried to run back into the hole in the wall. The orc bursts in after him. Naztae makes an athletics check to see if he made it into the hole.

CRITICAL FAILURE! SURGE TABLE ROLL IS 2!!!!

FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS WE’RE GOING ON A RIDE

A 2 meant you surge for whole minute. That means we gotta do these surges 10 more times. YAAAAAY!!!!

Naztae tripped and fell while the orc burst into the room after him

1ST SURGE TABLE ROLL IS 100!

Naztae’s sorcery points come back even though he never used them in the first place. 

2ND SURGE TABLE ROLL IS 76!

The orc takes a swing. Naztae panicked and started to glow. Both he and the orc go blind (The DM thought it would be better if we both went blind this time). The orc missed and Naztae can’t see shit. 

He attempts to regain his sight and tried to run for the hole again. He makes it into the hole.

3RD SURGE TABLE ROLL IS 94!

Naztae goes from a size medium to large. His butt is stuck in the hole. 

The orc regains his sight and is SUPER pissed. Naztae wiggles in panic as he tried to escape from the hole. The elvish woman is screaming. Someone is pounding on the door. 

4TH SURGE TABLE ROLL IS 44!

For the next 10 rounds, Naztae can teleport up to 20ft in distance. 

The elvish woman goes for the door. 

Naztae cast crown of madness on the orc so he wouldn’t curb stomp him into the hole. He teleports out of the hole and into the bedroom. 

Fun fact about crown of madness, your target needs someone to attack or else it’ll go back to their usual behavior. 

Naztae chucks the prostitute at the orc before she can open the door. 

5TH SURGE TABLE ROLL IS 15!

For 10 rounds, Naztae regains 5 hit points at the beginning of each turn. 

Since the orc is busy and the prostitute is out of the way, Naztae decided to loot the room. He uses teleportation to make it faster. 

The door busts down and the other orc, still putting on his pants, rushed into the room. Crown of madness fades as well. Naztae teleports down into the hole

6TH SURGE TABLE ROLL IS 74! 

The orc with madness suddenly doubles over from poison. 

Naztae teleports down to the ground level. He had a choice to teleport inside or teleport outside. Naztae teleports inside, but he turns invisible first. Good choice, as he was in another room with a prostitute. 

A married couple and a prostitute were starting to flirt with each other, so nothing too bad. Naztae decided to sneak by and let them do their thing. 

7TH SURGE TABLE ROLL IS 7!

Naztae cast a 3rd level fireball on himself. He survived. 

The married couple and the prostitute are caught in the blast. All three of them are roasted to a crisp, but the prostitute didn’t quite die yet. 

With a grimace, Naztae loots their corpses. 

Once he hears voices on the ground floor, he teleports into the building next door. It is an abandoned dress shop.

Naztae sits down and does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING 

8TH SURGE TABLE ROLL IS 46!

Naztae levitates. 

9TH SURGE TABLE ROLL IS 26!

An eye appears on Naztae’s forehead. He has advantage on wisdom and sight checks. 

FINAL SURGE TABLE ROLL IS 66!

Three innocent civilians on the street are struck by lightning. One of them was a child. 

Knowing that the surge is finally over, Naztae decided to sit until things calm down, then plans his next course of action (He needs to get out of the slums, and he needs to get out soon) 

Okay, so that’s all I’m going to fit into this one. This session was a LONG one, so the next post will be 2.5. Yeah, a lot more happens than this, and it continues to go downhill from here.

As a result of everything that happened, security in the city is increased, and Naztae is pretty much an accidental terrorist. Why? Because he needed those coins. Again, feel free reply or reblog with your own DnD stories. 

I don’t know how soon I’ll post the next one, but we’ll see. 

#DnD: Chaos Campaign #Dungeons and Dragons #d&d #d&d 5e

[shannrussell-blog1]

If you’ve had the privilege of travelling much of Western Australia, you’ll know there are some brilliant places to explore. If you haven’t, put it on the bucket list. From some of the best beaches in the world through to what many people suggest is the best National Park in Australia (Karijini), you’ll have a blast.

When it comes to finding somewhere to camp for the night there’s no shortage, and today we are sharing 10 incredible places to get the travel juices flowing.

1. Thomas River

Starting on the southern coast, some 122km east of Esperance lies the Thomas River. This is a quiet spot in Cape Arid National Park with two campgrounds and some of the whitest beaches you’ll see anywhere in Australia.

You can camp at the DPAW (Department of Parks and Wildlife) campground at the top of the hill. Or you can camp right next to Thomas River in the shire run campgrounds. Both sites are managed by DPAW volunteers and have their own merits. They range in size but suit everything from tents to big caravans, and all are accessible by 2WD, although the road is gravel.

There’s a whopping 30kms of beach to explore at Thomas River in Western Australia. 

If you have a 4WD, you can drive onto the main beach and head 30 km east towards Mount Arid. There are a few rocky headlands to drive around, but the driving is easy with the right tyre pressure and tide monitoring.

To the south is two amazing beaches – Big and Little Tagon. You can get onto Little Tagon by foot or Big Tagon by 4WD. The area is fantastic for finding your own patch of beach and relaxing! The diving and fishing are spectacular – I’ve caught plenty of fish here!

A friendly seal we met at Thomas River. 

2. Waychinicup National Park

Waychinicup is located roughly 70km northeast of Albany and is a beautiful and unique place with a huge number of beautiful animals to watch. It’s a natural inlet from the coast where a small river flows into and is truly stunning. The southern coast is extremely aggressive, with huge swells and waves pummelling the rocks where the ocean meets the inlet. Fall asleep to the sound of the waves smashing in – it’s bliss!

The campsites are relatively small, and many don’t want you to park your vehicle next to camp. The fishing is great, as is the 4WD tracks along Cheynes beach and around the Waychinicup National Park.

The Waychinicup Inlet is only metres away from camp.

If you’re into animals, this is one of the best campsites we’ve ever stayed at. There are a huge number of amazing birds, several big lizards, plus quendas and possums at night. We even saw a big python waiting for a meal to come by!

We spent many hours just relaxing in different areas, watching the amazing animal life. You  don’t need a 4WD to access the campgrounds at Waychinicup.

Our trusty RV tent set up at Waychinicup National Park. 

3. Yeagarup

The Pemberton area is a magical place. Big karri trees stretch for kilometres on end and many follow the Warren River which winds up on the coast at Yeagarup. Access is strictly 4WD only and requires extremely low tyre pressure to get back up the dunes.

It takes a good hour to drive into Yeagarup, and eventually, you’ll come down a dune onto the beach. This beach is massive so you can drive around 15km north-west or south-east. You can camp anywhere on the beach and in the already cleared areas.

It pays to find somewhere with a bit of protection e.g., behind a sand dune, or along one of the rivers as the wind can be quite strong. Pay careful attention to the beach conditions as it changes hugely from season to season.

Take care when crossing the Warren River in your vehicle. 

Crossing the Warren River by 4WD has cost a number of people their 4WD’s. Walk the crossing first, make sure your tyre pressures are down at least to 15 PSI and cross nearest where the water flows out to the ocean. It pays to have a second vehicle with you, as the sand can be extremely soft!

The salmon fishing at Yeagarup is extremely popular for good reason. There are also lots of places to explore in the surrounding area, including Callcup hill – one of the biggest dunes in Australia.

Our campsite at Yeagarup – right on the beach! 

4. Waroona Dam

Just an hour and twenty minutes south of Perth lies Waroona Dam, a popular place to head for the weekend. You can stay at the caravan park or bush camp near the dam itself. Water skiing is extremely popular, as are 4WD tracks, freshwater fishing and relaxing in the water.

It’s a picturesque place that’s close enough to Perth to really have a great weekend away. The bush camp has toilets, and that’s about it. You can also access the dam by a 2WD or a 4WD vehicle.

Waroona Dam Creek is a great weekend trip for those close to Perth. 

5. Dwellingup

Not far from Waroona Dam lies Dwellingup – a hugely popular camping destination. Just 1 hour and 20 minutes away from Perth, Lane Pool Reserve in Dwellingup has been enjoyed by thousands of people for many years.

Your options here are unlimited, with the beautiful Murray River flowing past many of the campsites, lots of walking and 4WD trails, white water rafting and canoeing, along with downhill mountain biking, freshwater fishing, rope swings and more.

In summer it’s great for swimming and relaxing, and in winter it’s fantastic for rafting and relaxing around a fire. The roads around Lane Pool Reserve are gravel and kept in good enough condition, so you can drive a 2WD vehicle on them if you’re careful.

The Murray River flows past the campsites so you can make the most of it. 

6. Sandy Cape

Another fantastic weekend getaway is Sandy Cape which is 2 and a half hours north of Perth right on the coast. Sandy Cape is a shire run campground, which has just had some upgrades completed.

If you like you can stay at the more formal campsites. Or if you prefer ‘bush camping’ you can camp anywhere in the Sandy Cape Reserve which covers around 10km of coastline.

Boating with smaller boats is popular in the area, as well as beach fishing and exploring the 4WD tracks. There are some protected bays that are truly stunning, with lots of scenery to enjoy. You can access Sandy Cape by 2WD to the main camping areas, those that are more ‘remote’ need 4WD access.

Sandy Cape provides prime fishing spots, and opportunities to take the boat out. 

7. Little Bay, Horrocks

5 and a half hours north-west of Perth lies a quiet little town known as Horrocks. If you’re self-sufficient, you can stay at Little Bay which is a protected beach with 3 small camp areas. This campground is 4WD accessible only, and you need to let your tyres down.

This campground is shire run, so it’s very affordable and the rules aren’t as strict. There’s a couple of very clean and modern camp toilets at this campsite, and activity wise there is plenty of great fishing to be done.

If you’re in need of burning some energy off, there’s a ridiculously steep dune right behind the camps, and a rope to pull yourself up. The dune takes at least 10 times longer to climb as it does to go down, but you’ll be rewarded with an amazing view at the top.

Our fishing gear lined up and ready to go at Little Bay. 

8. Karijini

If you ask a number of people who have travelled across Australia where their favourite national park is, I guarantee Karijini would be a regular contender. Karijini is often said to be the best national park in Australia, and it’s easy to see why.

With amazing red rock formations surrounding truly magic waterfalls and gorges, it’s an absolute bucket list destination.

There are so many gorges, rock formations, and waterfalls to see in Karijini. 

The national park is quite big and has gravel roads throughout. 2WD vehicles will be able to handle it, just keep in mind the roads can be rough depending on traffic and weather. You can camp at Dales campground (run by DPAW), or the Eco Retreat which has campsites along with glamping options.

You can explore a couple of gorges each day, with Fern Pool being an absolute must for a short walk. It’s got amazing scenery, and you can go for a refreshing swim. Karijini is a good 14-hour drive north-east of Perth, so do it over several days for maximum enjoyment.

Fern Pool is undoubtedly a must visit in Karijini. 

9. Cleaverville

Pulling over the last hill my jaw dropped as I saw the view that Cleaverville had to offer. With glassy calm water, pristine islands and at only a few dollars a night per vehicle, I knew it was a winner!

Cleaverville is located in the Pilbara region, which is between Karratha and Point Samson. The coastline is amazing, the fishing is fantastic and the weather is pretty good for several months of the year. As Cleaverville is only 40km from Karratha, it’s close enough to duck in to grab anything you may have missed but also far enough to escape the hustle and bustle.

The campgrounds only have a toilet, which means you need to be self-sufficient in every other way.

The Cleaverville campground in Western Australia offers great views but has limited facilities.

10. Windjana Gorge

The Gibb River Road in the Kimberley is jam-packed full of incredible campgrounds, but Windjana Gorge has to be one of the best. With flushing toilets, solar showers and an amazing rock backdrop that lights up as the sun goes down, you’ll love it too. A short walk takes you to Windjana Gorge – one of the few places you can see wild freshwater crocodiles.

The Kimberly region is home to the stunning Windjana Gorge. 

As you can see, Western Australia is full of incredible campsites just waiting for you to explore. With everything from coastal areas and beaches, to gorges and rivers, and national parks – if you haven’t camped here, then you definitely need to visit!

Where’s your favourite hidden gem in Western Australia? Let us know in the comments below. 

The post 10 Incredible Campsites in Western Australia appeared first on Snowys Blog.

[waywardluminarychaos]

We spent four weeks in Nepal, visiting several areas. Nepal is a beautiful, hospitable and interesting country- and also trashy, polluted, and maddeningly inefficient. But let’s talk about the good stuff first!

Chris and I arrived in Kathmandu during the Hindu festival of Dashain. We stayed in Thamel, the five-block tourist zone of the busy city, and I promptly got sick. I spent 12 hours throwing up, then felt much better and didn’t have any problems the rest of the time I was there. So at least I got that out of the way. We also got to meet up with our friend Ray, our most adventurous friend, who we met on the Appalachian Trail in 2014, so that was fun!

An offering for Dashain

Fun to see friends around the world!

We got our trekking permits and got an eight hour bus to Besisahar. From there we started the Annapurna Circuit trek, a roughly 150 mile hike that goes up a river valley, over a Himalayan pass, and down another river valley, with views of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountains each day. For six days we trekked steadily upwards (although with plenty of maddening downhills too) through small villages, farm fields, mountain paths, and goat trails. We ate meals and stayed in small teahouses, so we didn’t have to carry tents or food. Some people take a guide or porters, but we did not (for a day-by-day blog post of our Annapurna Circuit hike, click here).

Following this river valley all the way up

The architecture, people, and religious customs in this area are more (Buddhist) Tibetan than (Hindu) Nepalese. For centuries, trade between India and Nepal, and China and Tibet, has centered on these passes through the Himalayas. The people greet us with ” Namaste”, and most are vegetarian. The locals along the route are poor by western standards, but feeding and housing tourists, as well as farming, makes these people more well-off than those in other parts of the country.

At the High Pass on the trek

Happily, we had excellent weather, and after six days up the Marsygandi River Valley, an acclimatization day at 3500 meters, and another two days up, we were at the high pass. Painstakingly, with one foot in front of the other, we made it over the high pass at 5400 meters, and started down the other side, along the Kali Gandaki river valley. Going down proved pretty much as hard as going up but without the fear of Acute Mountain Sickness or HAPE/HACE. After three or four days down, I decided I was done hiking and we hopped on a bus (for what was literally the most terrifying bus ride I’ve ever been on) to a pretty lakeside town, Pokhara.

Starting back down the mountains…

We spent a couple of days resting our aching feet in Pokhara, then decided to visit Chitwan National Park. We stayed at the lovely Chitwan Village Resort, and enjoyed various activities such as a canoe ride, a jungle walk, and a Jeep safari. We saw dozens of sub-tropical birds: herons, osprey, storks, and kingfishers, as well as crocodiles, monkeys, deer, rhinos, elephants, and boars. We even encountered a wild rhino foraging in the village, watching as an exasperated farmer chased it out of his farm field.

While we were in Chitwan, the Diwali festival began. Candles everywhere, and colored-sand or colored-rice rangolis in front of everyone’s front door made the area festive. We took a bus back to Kathmandu, and visited the UNESCO Durbar Square (largely destroyed by the 2015 earthquake, and with very few signs of being reconstructed anytime soon), and Swayambhunath Buddhist temple (the monkey temple) and enjoyed walking around the streets in and near Thamel. It’s a pleasant, fairly quiet area with lots of courtyard cafes, hotels of all budget levels, and shops selling trekking gear and Nepalese souvenirs. On our last day in town, we went to visit the Temple of Boudhanath, one of the largest Buddhist stupas in the world.

Swayambhunath Temple

Monkeys greet us as we head up the steps

Unfortunately, Nepal has a serious trash and pollution problem. High on a hill in Kathmandu, one cannot see the other side of the city due to the smog. Nepalese think nothing of dropping trash on the ground when they are done with their candies, chips, or water bottles, even at their holiest sites. This trash accumulates in every stream and on every hillside leading in and out of Kathmandu- I watched as a dump truck full of trash pulled up next to a mountain side, reversed, and then emptied its load of brightly- bagged trash straight down the hillside. Trash is burned in the streets and the villages constantly, giving off an acrid smoke as the various plastics burn. It is no wonder that most Nepalese wear face-masks for their own respiratory protection. It is extremely common to see and hear the person walking or sitting next to you hawk up a huge loogie wherever they are- indoors or out- and spit it on the ground.

Just one of the piles of trash in Kathmandu

So. Nepal. Beautiful country- fabulous trekking- but not the highest on my list to visit. There’s plenty of other places to vacation in Asia that have at least gotten their trash problem under control. I’m glad we came, and I’m glad we’re going. I think Nepal would be a difficult place to work and live in.

Total costs for Nepal:

Flight: $0 (we used airline points to get from DC to here)

Visas: $40 per person for the 30 day visa

Food, lodging, permits, activities, souvenirs: $1580

Days in country: 26

Cost per day: $60 for two people

Have you been to Nepal? What were your impressions?

Nepal We spent four weeks in Nepal, visiting several areas. Nepal is a beautiful, hospitable and interesting country- and also trashy, polluted, and maddeningly inefficient.

#Annapurna circuit #Besisahar #Chitwan National Park #Dashain #Diwali #Kathmandu #Manang #Nepal #Pokhara #Thamel #Thorong La #travel blog #trekking

[shannrussell-blog1]

If you’ve had the privilege of travelling much of Western Australia, you’ll know there are some brilliant places to explore. If you haven’t, put it on the bucket list. From some of the best beaches in the world through to what many people suggest is the best National Park in Australia (Karijini), you’ll have a blast.

When it comes to finding somewhere to camp for the night there’s no shortage, and today we are sharing 10 incredible places to get the travel juices flowing.

1. Thomas River

Starting on the southern coast, some 122km east of Esperance lies the Thomas River. This is a quiet spot in Cape Arid National Park with two campgrounds and some of the whitest beaches you’ll see anywhere in Australia.

You can camp at the DPAW (Department of Parks and Wildlife) campground at the top of the hill. Or you can camp right next to Thomas River in the shire run campgrounds. Both sites are managed by DPAW volunteers and have their own merits. They range in size but suit everything from tents to big caravans, and all are accessible by 2WD, although the road is gravel.

There’s a whopping 30kms of beach to explore at Thomas River in Western Australia. 

If you have a 4WD, you can drive onto the main beach and head 30 km east towards Mount Arid. There are a few rocky headlands to drive around, but the driving is easy with the right tyre pressure and tide monitoring.

To the south is two amazing beaches – Big and Little Tagon. You can get onto Little Tagon by foot or Big Tagon by 4WD. The area is fantastic for finding your own patch of beach and relaxing! The diving and fishing are spectacular – I’ve caught plenty of fish here!

A friendly seal we met at Thomas River. 

2. Waychinicup National Park

Waychinicup is located roughly 70km northeast of Albany and is a beautiful and unique place with a huge number of beautiful animals to watch. It’s a natural inlet from the coast where a small river flows into and is truly stunning. The southern coast is extremely aggressive, with huge swells and waves pummelling the rocks where the ocean meets the inlet. Fall asleep to the sound of the waves smashing in – it’s bliss!

The campsites are relatively small, and many don’t want you to park your vehicle next to camp. The fishing is great, as is the 4WD tracks along Cheynes beach and around the Waychinicup National Park.

The Waychinicup Inlet is only metres away from camp.

If you’re into animals, this is one of the best campsites we’ve ever stayed at. There are a huge number of amazing birds, several big lizards, plus quendas and possums at night. We even saw a big python waiting for a meal to come by!

We spent many hours just relaxing in different areas, watching the amazing animal life. You  don’t need a 4WD to access the campgrounds at Waychinicup.

Our trusty RV tent set up at Waychinicup National Park. 

3. Yeagarup

The Pemberton area is a magical place. Big karri trees stretch for kilometres on end and many follow the Warren River which winds up on the coast at Yeagarup. Access is strictly 4WD only and requires extremely low tyre pressure to get back up the dunes.

It takes a good hour to drive into Yeagarup, and eventually, you’ll come down a dune onto the beach. This beach is massive so you can drive around 15km north-west or south-east. You can camp anywhere on the beach and in the already cleared areas.

It pays to find somewhere with a bit of protection e.g., behind a sand dune, or along one of the rivers as the wind can be quite strong. Pay careful attention to the beach conditions as it changes hugely from season to season.

Take care when crossing the Warren River in your vehicle. 

Crossing the Warren River by 4WD has cost a number of people their 4WD’s. Walk the crossing first, make sure your tyre pressures are down at least to 15 PSI and cross nearest where the water flows out to the ocean. It pays to have a second vehicle with you, as the sand can be extremely soft!

The salmon fishing at Yeagarup is extremely popular for good reason. There are also lots of places to explore in the surrounding area, including Callcup hill – one of the biggest dunes in Australia.

Our campsite at Yeagarup – right on the beach! 

4. Waroona Dam

Just an hour and twenty minutes south of Perth lies Waroona Dam, a popular place to head for the weekend. You can stay at the caravan park or bush camp near the dam itself. Water skiing is extremely popular, as are 4WD tracks, freshwater fishing and relaxing in the water.

It’s a picturesque place that’s close enough to Perth to really have a great weekend away. The bush camp has toilets, and that’s about it. You can also access the dam by a 2WD or a 4WD vehicle.

Waroona Dam Creek is a great weekend trip for those close to Perth. 

5. Dwellingup

Not far from Waroona Dam lies Dwellingup – a hugely popular camping destination. Just 1 hour and 20 minutes away from Perth, Lane Pool Reserve in Dwellingup has been enjoyed by thousands of people for many years.

Your options here are unlimited, with the beautiful Murray River flowing past many of the campsites, lots of walking and 4WD trails, white water rafting and canoeing, along with downhill mountain biking, freshwater fishing, rope swings and more.

In summer it’s great for swimming and relaxing, and in winter it’s fantastic for rafting and relaxing around a fire. The roads around Lane Pool Reserve are gravel and kept in good enough condition, so you can drive a 2WD vehicle on them if you’re careful.

The Murray River flows past the campsites so you can make the most of it. 

6. Sandy Cape

Another fantastic weekend getaway is Sandy Cape which is 2 and a half hours north of Perth right on the coast. Sandy Cape is a shire run campground, which has just had some upgrades completed.

If you like you can stay at the more formal campsites. Or if you prefer ‘bush camping’ you can camp anywhere in the Sandy Cape Reserve which covers around 10km of coastline.

Boating with smaller boats is popular in the area, as well as beach fishing and exploring the 4WD tracks. There are some protected bays that are truly stunning, with lots of scenery to enjoy. You can access Sandy Cape by 2WD to the main camping areas, those that are more ‘remote’ need 4WD access.

Sandy Cape provides prime fishing spots, and opportunities to take the boat out. 

7. Little Bay, Horrocks

5 and a half hours north-west of Perth lies a quiet little town known as Horrocks. If you’re self-sufficient, you can stay at Little Bay which is a protected beach with 3 small camp areas. This campground is 4WD accessible only, and you need to let your tyres down.

This campground is shire run, so it’s very affordable and the rules aren’t as strict. There’s a couple of very clean and modern camp toilets at this campsite, and activity wise there is plenty of great fishing to be done.

If you’re in need of burning some energy off, there’s a ridiculously steep dune right behind the camps, and a rope to pull yourself up. The dune takes at least 10 times longer to climb as it does to go down, but you’ll be rewarded with an amazing view at the top.

Our fishing gear lined up and ready to go at Little Bay. 

8. Karijini

If you ask a number of people who have travelled across Australia where their favourite national park is, I guarantee Karijini would be a regular contender. Karijini is often said to be the best national park in Australia, and it’s easy to see why.

With amazing red rock formations surrounding truly magic waterfalls and gorges, it’s an absolute bucket list destination.

There are so many gorges, rock formations, and waterfalls to see in Karijini. 

The national park is quite big and has gravel roads throughout. 2WD vehicles will be able to handle it, just keep in mind the roads can be rough depending on traffic and weather. You can camp at Dales campground (run by DPAW), or the Eco Retreat which has campsites along with glamping options.

You can explore a couple of gorges each day, with Fern Pool being an absolute must for a short walk. It’s got amazing scenery, and you can go for a refreshing swim. Karijini is a good 14-hour drive north-east of Perth, so do it over several days for maximum enjoyment.

Fern Pool is undoubtedly a must visit in Karijini. 

9. Cleaverville

Pulling over the last hill my jaw dropped as I saw the view that Cleaverville had to offer. With glassy calm water, pristine islands and at only a few dollars a night per vehicle, I knew it was a winner!

Cleaverville is located in the Pilbara region, which is between Karratha and Point Samson. The coastline is amazing, the fishing is fantastic and the weather is pretty good for several months of the year. As Cleaverville is only 40km from Karratha, it’s close enough to duck in to grab anything you may have missed but also far enough to escape the hustle and bustle.

The campgrounds only have a toilet, which means you need to be self-sufficient in every other way.

The Cleaverville campground in Western Australia offers great views but has limited facilities.

10. Windjana Gorge

The Gibb River Road in the Kimberley is jam-packed full of incredible campgrounds, but Windjana Gorge has to be one of the best. With flushing toilets, solar showers and an amazing rock backdrop that lights up as the sun goes down, you’ll love it too. A short walk takes you to Windjana Gorge – one of the few places you can see wild freshwater crocodiles.

The Kimberly region is home to the stunning Windjana Gorge. 

As you can see, Western Australia is full of incredible campsites just waiting for you to explore. With everything from coastal areas and beaches, to gorges and rivers, and national parks – if you haven’t camped here, then you definitely need to visit!

Where’s your favourite hidden gem in Western Australia? Let us know in the comments below. 

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