Updates

October 13, 2020

New Wheels

Picked up an old truck to help out with pick ups and some other errands. It's -so- much better than my scooter. Found it for a huge bargain so I got to pay cash. One of the guys in the shop said that I could write it off on my taxes as a legit business expense. It will definitely make picking up supplies easier for some of the stuff Chewie is building for us and dropping off packages to be shipped out will be a HELL of a lot easier if I can just toss them in the back. This mostly came after needing to get rides from people for places that were just way too far to ride on the scooter. Might let someone buy it off me if they need something simple for in-town trips.

October 7, 2020

Road Trip

Went on an awesome hike with Tabi up into the hills south of town. There were deer and critters a plenty. I got TONS of pics and even managed to draw a few things while we took a break for lunch. She's just like a great person to put up with my curiosity. It was -so- nice to get out of the shop for a while - needed to recharge my batteries ya know?

Contacts

Caressa: She likes to play with fire. She gonna get burned.
Chris Scott: Really cool guy. Could NOT believe that he's also a gamer, not with that body.
Conn: Cool guy. Met him at his bar and found out he's a real gamer.
Dallas: Interesting guy. Sucks that is life took a dive when he got to town.
Dalvin: Cool guy. Fellow Ginger. Gamer. Kinda shy.
Ed: Met her at the Murder, a friend of Goldie. She's more MTG than D&G or BDG but she might help me out with the wifi.
Evie: She had my back, literally, when the lights were out and the storm raged.
Goldie: Another gamer who knows her stuff. It's great to see more women in the shop - if only the guys would stop staring.
Hector: Super cool. Loves his tech. Really appreciate the help.
Kameshi: Her Cosplay is at a whole different level. Likes Starwars. Hope she comes back.
Tabi: Such a nice person. A rare quality in today's world.
Vasily: He likes to get his point across.

Out of Touch

Arumi: Great Cosplay. The guys at the shop -love- when she comes to visit.
Patti: She sure loves that light saber. There needs to be a duel with a certain cosplayer.

Hooks: Mundane

Transfer
After leaving California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) to transfer to UC:P to put some distance between him and the people at NIPR. So he's going to be seen around campus in Prospect and will be looking for a place to live around town, hanging out at the local student places, etc.
Business
The small gaming shop he grabbed near campus, Guardian Games, gave him a home, some place to work and research as well as a small source of income. The shop has its own characters who help keep the place going but plenty of people have wandered by and made the place a bit more interesting. The back room is for the Guardian Club; for a select group of "special" gamers.
Themes

Research (Knowledge is Power)
Temptation (Power corrupts?)
Revelation (The 'Real' world is Dark)
Sacrifice (Power has a Price)
Struggle (Prices may Differ)
Acceptance (Difference is not Deviant)
Independence (Deviance is Good)
Curiosity (Killed the Cat)
Discovery (Brought it Back)

Hooks: Supernatural

Psychic
His experience with NIPR has shaken him a bit and there's a whole lot of questions swirling around in his head about what happened, what he thinks he saw or heard in that tank, etc. He'll be looking for answers but who knows where that will lead him.

Magic
Magic a tool of enlightenment, a weapon against the growing tides of ignorance of what goes bump in the night. But using it, for whatever reason, the user puts one foot in the ever-growing World of Darkness. As you build your magic you will slowly start to see the world for what it really is: a dangerous, monster-filled nightmare.

There really are vampires that hunt humans, shapeshifters will kill you to look at you and and evil spirits constantly try to break their way into our world. Every old house has ghosts, every dark alley conceals predators and rooftops and parking garages become the new battlegrounds for humanity. This is the world you now walk in.

Paradigm: (How does he see the world) A World of Gods and Monsters (For the Night is Dark and Full of Terrors. So get your Magic on if you hope to survive it.)

Practice: (How does he approach magic) The Secret Fire A combination of Mall Magic (Fantasy elements from LOTR, Harry Potter), Witchcraft (Old World Elemental Magic) with some trappings of Hermeticism (Sacred Geometry, True Names, etc.)

Path: (What does he plan to do with this magic) Lightbringer (Ignorance is Darkness so it's his job to spread the light, to hold high the torch so that others might find their way.)

Instruments: (What are the tools he uses for his magic) Walmart Wizard Books, Bones, Candles, Circles, Elements (Fire, Water, Earth, Air), Gems & Crystals, Offerings & Sacrifices, Prayers and Invocations, Symbols, True Names, Wands & Staves, writing and runes.)

Essence: (What is his magical personality) Dynamic: Fire (curiosity, impatience, and sudden flashes of brilliance)

Resonance: (What flavor does his magic take?) Stormy (The echo of thunder, the flash of lightning and the smell of rain on the wind)

Background

A Perfect Life
Rustin is the kind of guy that seems like a walking stereotype. Russet hair, green-eyed with a nice body, great smile and a fairly easy-going personality paints a picture of midnight bonfires at the beach, parties up in the hills and a fairly good life. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Growing up in Oceanside with two successful parents, a few siblings and a nice house should have been the formula for a perfect life. Both parents were consumed with a deeply-rooted need to succeed in their lives; to impress others and gain status and station at all cost and all of their children had to be just as impressive. When their middle child started hearing and seeing things that weren't there they, of course, sought the advice from the best medical experts. But more importantly, they saw to it that he was kept away from the public view as much as possible. If he was having a bad week, he'd be left home with a baby sitter as the parents and the other children attended social occasions to mingle and jingle with the powers-that-be in their beachfront lives. By the time he was able to get out of high school and away from his family he was able to finally get off the massive amounts of psychotropics and mood-stabilizers and vanished off to college.
College
Rustin didn't end up going to UC:P because of a number of reasons. He did manage to get into one of the smaller, community colleges in the county and was thankfully able to move away from his parents. He majored in business with a minor in psychology and enjoyed himself fairly well. While on campus he came across one of the many fliers that plaster the campus trying to attract students for cheap and easy money by filling our a survey or volunteering to be a research subject for some psychological experiment. Trying to live his own life on his own terms meant that he could really use the cash so he signed up. The research was focused around human perception and intuition and he didn't take it all that seriously at first. They would show him cards of symbols and he'd guess the right one or they would tell him that there was something hidden under one of a number of different solid shapes and he would have to draw which one he thought the thing was hidden under. He took the test, got the money and left without a second thought. A week later, he got a phone call that changed his life.

Information

Name	Rustin Lowe
Apparent Age	Early Twenties
Occupation:	Student
Demeanor:	Director
Nature:	Survivor
Race:	Mortal+
Hair Color:	Russet
Eye Color:	Green
Height:	6"
Weight:	190
Occupation:	Owner: Guardian Games