The cast of How to Survive Camping.
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Campground Staff
Kate/The Lady of Stories
The current owner of the campground.
- Action Girl: Considering that part of her job involves keeping the peace between the inhuman things on her land and exterminating the ones that pose a danger to her campgoers, it's not much of a surprise that she can kick some ass when needed.
- Badass Normal: Despite her wide array of skills, Kate is still fundamentally human. This is what makes her struggle against the inhuman forces on her land that much more awe-inspiring. This also plays a large role in her ascension as the Lady of Stories.
- Berserk Button: Don't insult her parents. Just don't. Also any unprepared campers is also this for her and sometimes she's willing to let the more idiotic ones die because they break the rules - especially those pertaining to the campground inhuman inhabitants.
- Deadpan Snarker: Campers who don't read the rules — both the special and the mundane — are generally on the receiving end of this. Furthermore, while inhuman things can be a genuine threat to safety on her campground, what's more likely to kill a person is not following common sense.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Kate's parents died due to the family curse while she was away at college, with her having witnessed their demise in a vivid dream. Kate repeatedly struggles with her own turmoil over this throughout the story.
- Deer in the Headlights: Understandably, whenever the Beast is around.
- Eye Scream: The woman with extra eyes stabs one of her eyes with a splinter as to help Kate see the not!brother's true form.
- The Determinator: Despite being nothing more than a mere human, Kate has survived plenty of supernatural incidents through sheer determination. It is this trait that made Beau spare her, for he could see her ascend as an ancient being through nothing but the sheer stubbornness to survive.
- Friendless Background: Sort of. Many of the friends she had as a child were either driven away by her family's reputation or died/left after getting caught up in the inhuman side of things. Outside her family, she at least seems to have had Bryan and the Old Sheriff, but not much else.
- The Napoleon: Kate has a hell of a temper, and is sometimes mentioned to be shorter than average throughout the series.
- Would Hurt a Child: Subverted. Several inhuman things take the form of children to fool their prey, but that's hardly stopped Kate from attempting to get rid of them when necessary.
Bryan
One of Kate's most trusted employees. He can often be seen patrolling the campground with his pack of dogs. His Irish ancestry helped Kate in more ways than one. Unfortunately, after his dogs were killed in the war between the fomorian and the fairy, he took his great-grandmother's seal coat and mourned their deaths as a Selkie
.
.- Friendless Background: Like Kate, he was largely peerless as a child due to his involvement with inhuman things, regardless of if he chose it or not.
- Innocence Lost: Was first exposed to the more brutal side of humanity when he was blackmailed as a child and forced to make his dogs take part in an illegal animal fighting ring.
- Interspecies Romance: Has one with the fairy that was visiting the campgrounds.
- The Stoic: He's generally a very quiet and serious guy, though it often makes him come across as intimidating to many of the campers.
Turtle
One of the newer employees working at the campground.
- The Everyman: Unlike the rest of the humans on the main cast, Turtle has no prior experience to handling inhuman things, though she's quick to learn once she gets down to it.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: In order to protect her privacy, Kate only refers to her as 'Turtle,' which is a shortening of her Reddit username.
- Took a Level in Badass: Quickly adapts to the dangers of the campground, and becomes even more awesome after leaving the campground to help out at a bakery/library whose land has recently turned old.
Inhuman Creatures
The Man With the Skull Cup/Beau
Rule #12: If you’re approached by a stranger offering you a drink from a cup made out of a human skull, accept. It will taste foul and you will not be able to eat without vomiting for the next 24 hours, but this is better than what they will do to you if you refuse.
An inhuman who walks the campgrounds carrying a skull cup. Develops an attachment to Kate (and only Kate - as some of her workers found out the hard way) after seeing the potential of her ascending into an ancient being. Once Kate became the Lady of Stories, Beau in turn became her cup-bearer and companion.
- The Alcoholic: Can be summoned by leaving out a glass of alcohol and inviting him to sit down for a drink.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Despite his attachment to Kate - he reminds her very often that he is NOT human and that simply spending time with her actually hurts him physically. While he did save her life and helped her in fighting the more malevolent creatures on the campground, that favour is extended only to her. He has no compunctions of murdering others who refuses to drink from his cup or poisoning her workers should they cross his path.
- Humanoid Abomination: Although his form looks different to everyone, it always look human. The only way to know he is one is by the skull cup he holds.
- The Stoic: Initially starts out as one, though his character evolves as the series progresses
- The Snark Knight: Becomes progressively more so as the series goes on.
The Woman with Extra Eyes/The Lady in Chains
The woman with extra eyes will help you. You can trust her. If she invites you to her house for tea, accept. I think she’s a bit lonely.
One of the few "good" inhuman that lives on the campground. She helps Kate by giving her advice when it comes to dealing with the more troublesome creatures roaming the land. Unfortunately, every reincarnation of her will eventually turn into the Lady in Chains - a malevolent murderer who lures unsuspecting victims via Wounded Gazelle Gambit. Once she's in that state, she can only be turned back as the Woman with Extra Eyes once she is slain. She becomes The Big Bad of Book Two once she's transformed into the Lady in Chains.
- Benevolent Monsters: She is considered this by those on the grounds. Unfortunately, subverted once she becomes the lady in chains.
- Chained by Fashion: When she's turned into the Lady in Chains, her entire body is bound to this. However, her chains are less of the metallic kind and more akin to a spider's webs, albeit one that can crush a man's leg without much effort.
- Eyes Do Not Belong There: She has eyes all the surface of her face.
- Humanoid Abomination: She has multiple eyes all over her face, but aside from that she's resembles a woman.
- Extra Eyes: Has eyes all over her face. It actually foreshadows her true form - which is that of a giant spider.
- Walking Spoiler: Due to her nature as both woman with extra eyes AND the lady in chains.
The Dancers
Rule #4: If you see a group of people dancing in a circle around a fire, you may join them. If they welcome you in, dance with them until the music ends. Do not look at the musicians. If they do not welcome you, but instead stop and stare, back away slowly and then leave. If they follow you, you can try to run, but it is likely already too late. Pray that death comes swiftly.
A group of dancers (they insist that they are ''not'' fairies) who roam the campground. They have the ability to cure someone through dance but beware if you greet them and are unwelcomed - for they might find other means of entertainment instead.
- Establishing Character Moment: Upon their first meeting, the Lead Dancer cheerily invites Kate to join their circle. When Kate politely refuses, the Lead Dancer threatens her to join them, and they proceed to force Kate to dance until she collapses from exhaustion.
- Everything's Better with Sparkles: Loves glitter, lots and lots of glitter.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: The Lead Dancer counts as this, though she can be terrifyingly serious when she wants to.
- Humanoid Abomination: All of them are, unless you are destined to become a creature that's not human as the former sherriff became after spending some time with them.
- Involuntary Dance: People who are invited to join the Dancers' circle are magically forced to dance along to the music, even as their bodies begin to tire out.
- Rummage Sale Reject: Has a tendency to dress...oddly, like heavy fur coat during a hot summer or a bikini top during winter. This actually works as deterrent for campers because their appearance signals them that the group is not human.
The Harvesters
Rule #8: If you find yourself surrounded by a group of people whose faces you cannot see, no matter how hard you look, give them whatever they request. They will ask for an insignificant part of your body, such as a piece of your earlobe or a single digit from a finger. Try not to scream when they cut it off, or they will help themselves to additional pieces. Do not refuse or try to escape. They will take far more from you if they must obtain it by force.
A group of inhumans who don raincoats and go around asking for bits from their victims. In return they will create an item from your parts that would help you in the future. However, if you run or cry out they will take more than just bits.
- An Arm and a Leg: Could very well happen to those who try to refuse.
- The Assimilator: They do this as part of their recruitment method.
- Body Horror: What they become should the group reject a fellow harvester.
- Organic Technology: What they do to the parts that they take. Should their victims return, said items are proven to be extremely helpful for them.
The Man With No Shadow
Be wary of a friendly man that may approach you in shaded areas. Try to convince him to move into the sunlight. If he casts a shadow, you can assume it’s another camper and proceed accordingly. Otherwise, end the conversation immediately. He is trying to earn your trust.
The Big Bad of Book One. He spends the entirety of book one trying to wrangle the campground away from Kate in an attempt to rule over the land. He also does this as a retaliation to Kate printing the campground rules that had reduced his ability to gain victims.
- And I Must Scream: His final fate. After being swallowed up by The Thing in the Dark, his one attempt of escape was scuttled as the Thing in the Dark refused to let him go as he had threatened one of the Thing in the Dark's worshipper. Now he roams in their belly, powerless and unable to die unless he finds the Thing in the Dark's heart.
- Deadpan Snarker: Loves doing this, even though his snark tends to be sadistic in nature.
- Humanoid Abomination: He looks like a normal, friendly guy, until you realize that he casts no shadow.
- The Corrupter: His MO. Basically, once he befriends you he is able to command you to do anything he wished you to do. One of his victims was a young boy who had been bullied and as soon as the man without a shadow ensnared him, he suggested that the kid should go home and kill his brother. The worse part was the kid will be compelled to do so, and it took some come to jesus talk for the elder brother and some distance for the kid to be free. But the kid could still do so.
- Manipulative Bastard: Very much so. Kate bemoans that he has basically sleeper agents everywhere and it became extremely hard for her to even begin to untangle the web he wove.
The Fomorian
An inhuman entity Kate accidentally summoned during her attempts to get rid of another inhuman. It seeks to rule the campgrounds as it turns ancient. His companion is a cannibalistic horse the size of an elephant. The Big Bad of Book Three. A member of the Fomhóraigh, he is an ancient enemy of the fairies.
- The Dreaded: Very much to many of the creatures on the campgrounds. His ambition to rule over the area had led to many creating alliances and even helping Kate to find a way to remove him for good. It says something that both the man with the skull cup and the dancers are terrified of him. The only thing that could hurt him are creatures who are either ancient or near ancient and even then, he still survived. It took a combination of Kate, the fairy and the beast before he was finally killed for good.
- Eviler than Thou: Rides the Dappled-Grey Stallion.
- The Fair Folk: One of them.
- Horrifying the Horror: Kate knew the fomorian was on another level when they first time she and the man in the skull cup nearly crossed his path, all the skull cup man could do was demand they lay low and shut up. Even the dancers turn submissive when they are in his presence.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Has a single red eye and is as cruel as they come.
The Beast
A creature born as curse on Kate's family. He would appear at dawn to devour the little girl who weeps every night at the main house.
- Animalistic Abomination: It seems to be some kind of wolf/dog like creature, except that it has eyes that glow vividly.
- The Dreaded: Only towards Kate and her family. This still doesn't stop it from being feared by many of the creatures on the campgrounds, however. While it may not attack them, all of them knew that it's one of the few inhumans that can destroy them.
