Some Animal Edits and Touching the Horizon Chapter 4!

Hey guys, Arctic here. Hope you are all having an excellent day so far!

The last couple of updates (for me) have been rather... disappointing. This whole spike thing is kinda ridiculous - I'd really like to see some new cool things that aren't member-diamond items! Anyway, I thought I'd show you a couple edits I made with ideas for what some new AJ animals could look like. Please don't steak them or use without my permission. I worked hard on these and would be very upset if they were used wrongly!

First, we have what I imagine a beaver to look like in Animal Jam! It took me quite a while to get the shapes and sizing right, but I think I did a good job! This is an animal that I've wanted to have on Animal jam for the longest time. Hopefully, someday AJHQ will add them!

Next, we have a snake:

Snakes have been something that jammers have been wanting for a LONG time! I'm not quite sure how things like leg items would work, but I liked the idea so I made a snake edit as well. I think it turned out well! I'll probably keep making edits in the future, so if you guys like them, I'll probably keep posting them here too!

And now, it's time for Chapter 4 of Touching the Horizon! If you've missed any of the chapters, click the tag at the bottom of the post that says "Touching the Horizon" and all the chapters will come up. Pretty cool, eh?

Touching the Horizon

A story by Arcticstar8404

Chapter 4: Unforseen Circumstances

A smooth, cold darkness entered the corner of my eye, but only for a split second before everything went back to normal. The others sensed the danger too, because all three of them had the same look of concern on their faces.

"Are we going to get attacked?" Ja asked nervously

Everyone was silent for a second before Sarah yelled "NOT ON MY WATCH!". Staring directly at a strange dark patch that was forming in the void, she kicked one of her ice armor boots right into the center of it. 

With a loud crash, and a bright explosion, we all shot headfirst out of a growing crack in the void, unsure of where we were headed to next.

~~~

Not wanting to get separated, we all scrambled to grab each other before it was too late. Luckily, everyone just barely made it. There was just one problem: We had no idea where we were.

"Gracie, where were we supposed to be headed to?" I asked as I squinted into the bright light that we were engulfed in.

"Coolcat's den. I wanted to gather our friends to try and figure out what's going on... But we ended up here." she replied nervously.

"THANK GOODNESS!" cried a familiar voice from the distance.

"WHAT IS IT?" asked another familiar voice.

"IT'S OUR FRIENDS!!" exclaimed the first voice.

Our eyes had just begun to adjust to the strange light when two figures started running toward the four of us. Gradually, the figures revealed themselves to be Gfox and Frozen!
Sarah, Ja, Gracie, and I went to greet them gladly. How did they get here? And WHERE WERE WE?

"You guys too?!" We all exclaimed at once, resulting in laughter among all of us.

"We thought we'd be stuck here forever!" Frozen said sadly as Gfox nodded.

"We tried to teleport to Gracie's house as soon as we woke up in Jamaa. Something weird happened, though, some big crash - and lots of darkness..." Gfox shuddered "Also, Sarah, is this yours?" she asked, holding up a very scratched Ice Armor boot.

"MY BOOT!" Sarah exclaimed, grabbing it immediately and thanking her friend.

It was a time of great reunion between all of us. The only issue was, we were still stuck in some very bright land with glowing white grass and golden skies. It would have been nice, if we weren't seemingly trapped. As usual, it seemed that our happiness could not last, as no sooner had we all breathed sighs of relief, the same black cloud that was in the portal stretched across the land, inching closer to us...

~~~

Another cliffhanger! I'm pretty sinister, I know. Sorry for making you wait until next week, but it must be done! What do you think will happen next?

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

An excellent message! Times can be rough, sometimes they can be unbearable and you might wonder how you'll ever make it through. Just remember that even through adversity, you can face it with strength and come out all the better.

See you next week!

Send me a lemon at arcticstarjamaa@gmail.com !

Touching the Horizon Chapter 3!

Greetings Jammers- it's Arctic!


I've been studying for six days in a row now for my final exams and I think I'm slowly losing my mind, haha!

My last final is today (bless), so I should be more active now that summer is coming! So close yet so far... Because of this, this week's chapter of "Touching the Horizon" will not be as action packed, and will be a bit shorter. Just you wait though, soon it'll get more interesting!

So, without further ado:

Touching the Horizon

A story by Arcticstar8404

Chapter 3: Did You See That?

This strange set of circumstances was equal parts terrifying and exciting. It made me feel a bit better to have my friends around, at least.

"Weirrrrdddd" we all said in unison.

"So what now?" Ja asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"We're gonna figure this out the right way- with our friends." Gracie answered as she made her way over to her portal.

Hearts in our throats, we all held each other's paws as we stepped into the violet light.

~~~

The light was within us, and without us, just like before. A warm rush filled me once again, and I was in a state of bliss. I wish I could stay like this forever... I thought to myself. I looked over to see my friends all wearing expressions of similar states of relaxation. All except for Gracie.

I fought the urge to fall asleep, and called out to her:

"What's wrong, Gracie?"

"It feels like something is watching us. I thought I saw it a couple times earlier. I have a bad feeling about this." She answered hesitantly. 

Come to think of it, we had been in the portal for what seemed like a lot longer than my first time. Was this mysterious presence the cause of it?

A smooth, cold darkness entered the corner of my eye, but only for a split second before everything went back to normal. The others sensed the danger too, because all three of them had the same look of concern on their faces.

"Are we going to get attacked?" Ja asked nervously

Everyone was silent for a second before Sarah yelled "NOT ON MY WATCH!". Staring directly at a strange dark patch that was forming in the void, she kicked one of her ice armor boots right into the center of it. 

With a loud crash, and a bright explosion, we all shot headfirst out of a growing crack in the void, unsure of where we were headed to next.

~~~

MUHA, CLIFFHANGER. I'M GONNA MAKE YOU GUYS WAIT TIL' NEXT WEEK TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS! For now, though, feel free to tell me what YOU believe is going to happen! I'd like to see what you guys think!

Now, for the verse of the day:

Do to others as you would have them to you.

This verse is short and sweet, and can be found in Luke 6:31! A simple but excellent message on how to make your life better. 

See you next week!

Send me a lemon at arcticstarjamaa@gmail.com !

Touching the Horizon Chapter 2!

Greetings Jammers- Arctic here!

Sorry about not being able to post last week- luckily I found my phone, and all is well. How are you doing?

I've been a bit busy lately- my birthday was on the 7th, and it's been hectic with exams! Still not done school...

Alright! Anyway, it is time for Chapter 2 of my story "Touching the Horizon"
If you missed Chapter 1, you can read it here!

Touching the Horizon

A story by Arcticstar8404

Chapter Two: But What Next?

I eventually woke up. My vision was still blurry from having fallen face first into the grass, and it was impossible to make out what was going on. I realized that something had a tight grip on my shoulders, and three figures loomed over me, gradually coming into focus...

My first instinct, of course, was to panic. Everything ached, but I kicked and flailed anyway. There was no way I was getting kidnapped on my first day in Jamaa!

"ARCTIC, CUT IT OUT!" a familiar voice yelled

"At least she's awake - she's been out cold for at least an hour!" another voice replied

"THAT'S NO REASON TO KICK ME IN THE FACE!" the first voice replied angrily

"Arctic, stop kicking Ja, it's alright!" a third voice jumped in.

Ja? That meant that the second voice would be Sarah's, and Gracie must be the third! Relieved, I stopped my frantic self-defense, and sat up to see my three great buddies sitting there. Apart from Ja, who was still cross that she had gotten my heel to her face, they all looked relieved.

"We're so glad you're alright! You've been out for at least an hour now, after you came shooting out of that portal!" Gracie said

"Phew, thank goodness you're okay! Not going to lie, though, it was definitely funny to watch you fly out of the portal like that!" Sarah agreed

"You might be okay, but Gracie's lawn sure isn't. Just look at the crater you left!" Ja exclaimed

Sure enough, there was a raccoon shaped hole in the ground several metres away from a teal portal. The ground around it was scorched, and some steam was still rising from the centre of it.

"Eh... Whoops... Sorry about that" I mumbled

"Nevermind that" Sarah interrupted "We have other things to discuss! Did you suddenly wake up in your Animal Jam den too?" she asked

"Yep. The same thing happened to you guys?" I replied, as they all nodded.

This strange set of circumstances was equal parts terrifying and exciting. It made me feel a bit better to have my friends around, at least.

"Weirrrrdddd" we all said in unison.

"So what now?" Ja asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"We're gonna figure this out the right way- with our friends." Gracie answered as she made her way over to her portal.

Hearts in our throats, we all held each other's paws as we stepped into the violet light.

~~~

Hope you liked the new chapter! Sorry it got a bit cheesy with all the friendship stuff - I still think it turned out alright! Whose den do you think we're going to next? What do you think is going to happen? Tell me in the comments below!

I've gotta get going, but not before I give you the daily verse!

Our verse today is from Luke 6:42:

"How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

Now the whole thing with specks and logs might sound weird at first, but when you really think about it- there's a great message here. This verse encourages us to not be so nit-picky about others, but to realize that we all have issues. Become a better person yourself before trying to make others better! Words to live by!

See you next week!

Feel free to contact me at arcticstarjamaa@gmail.com !

Some Arctic Art, and My New Story!

Hey Jammers! Arctic here - hope y'all are doing alright!

First off - how do you guys feel about the new update? I personally think coyotes are quite cute, and I like them much better than the cougars and lynxes (both of which I'm not too fussy about). I especially like all the new western items!

A couple days ago, Karalee posted a wonderful drawing of many bloggers as little chibis! This got me inspired to do a kind of mini "self portrait" as well, of myself dressed up as my main animal. The idea credit goes 100% to Karalee - I only got inspired by her!

Hmm, I look a little bit like a boy here. Eh, that's alright. I actually have really short hair like that in real life, so sometimes people get confused! It was a lot of fun drawing this - I kind of just sat down and did it without really thinking!

When I told two of my buddies that I was planning to start a series of masterpieces featuring the minor alphas, they suggested that I did a masterpiece of Atlas, the lion alpha. This was a cool idea, so I went ahead and made a masterpiece of it! I'm planning to do more minor alphas sometime too. It's a ton of fun because they all have very basic designs, but so much is left to the imagination. What are their colours? Their personalities? What are they like? So many decisions!

Which minor alpha should I do next? I've gotten a couple people suggesting Amelia, the fox Alpha, but I personally want to do LaSalle (the raccoon alpha)

Alrighty. So, last week I made a tag that I shared with you guys. If you remember, I also mentioned that I had thought of a story idea based on one of the tag questions.

I didn't get any feedback from you guys, but I like the idea so much that I think I might go with it anyway! So without, further ado, let's get onto my story!

Touching the Horizon

A story by Arcticstar8404

Chapter One: This Strange New World

The gentle light filtered through the window, illuminating everything it touched in an early morning glow. Darkness was banished, and it was morning at last. Slowly, I stretched and woke up, watching the light make soft patterns on the wooden floor. It would have been a beautiful scene. Key word: "would" have.

The only issue was, as I quickly realized, was that this was not my room. This wasn't even my house. Resisting the urge to panic, I shuffled out of bed, and as soon as I stood up - my knees buckled on me. Apparently, I couldn't walk normally anymore either. I crawled over toward the wooden dresser on the other side of the round room. Looking in to the mirror, it finally clicked, and I knew what was wrong.

Staring back at me was not my own face, but that of a raccoon wearing an acorn hat. I lost it, and began panicking.

"Am I in... Jamaa?" I wondered aloud.

"No, no. Can't be. This has to be a dream. Yep, just a really far-out dream. Wake up wake up WAKE UP!" Doing everything from pinching myself, to staring at the clock, I tried to find any clues that this could be a dream. The more I tried to reason with myself, however, the more it dawned on me that it was this was reality... somehow.

Eventually, I stopped my hysterics and calmed down. What do I do now? I wondered, wandering down the stairs, and slumping into a chair beside the fireplace. Then it hit me. If I was in Jamaa, then this place must be like Animal Jam. In that case, there should be den portals! 

Surely I couldn't be the only one in this situation. If I travelled somewhere, perhaps, I could get some help and try to sort out my problem!

With a newfound hope, I bounded out the door of my mushroom house, down the garden path, and came to a stop at a small wooden frame in the centre of a flower patch - my den portal. The portal was dark, and seemed to be solid wood. How could I get it to work? Setting my paws on the smooth wooden edge, I mumbled the first thing that came to mind. Much to my shock, a bright teal light shot out of the middle of the frame!

"Do I just - WAAAAUUUUGGGGGHHH!!!!" I screamed, as a fell face first into the warm light.

The light seemed to be within me, but without me at the same time. A strange sensation filled my chest, it was as though the light was passing through me. Perhaps I have become part of the light, I thought. I was almost about to fall asleep, filled with this new warmth. And then I shot out of the other end of the portal.

"AAAAAUUUUUGGGHHHH ~ OOF!" I screamed, landing with a thud on the ground. Spitting out grass, I was about to look around for a clue as to where this could be, when my acorn hat shot out of the portal, bonking me squarely on the head. I was out cold. 

I eventually woke up. My vision was still blurry from having fallen face first into the grass, and it was impossible to make out what was going on. I realized that something had a tight grip on my shoulders, and three figures loomed over me, gradually coming into focus.

~~~

Heehee- sorry to end on a bit of a cliffhanger there - I hope you enjoyed it so far! Should I continue it? What do you think is going to happen next? Tell me in the comments!

Now before I go, I still have the daily verse to present to you. Here it is:

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves." - Philippians 2:3

This is very true! Sometimes it is difficult to not be selfish- everyone wants what's best for themselves - and that's not entirely a bad thing. However, it is also important to remember that there are other people around too, and you need to be kind to them! It's often hard to try to love others thus, especially if it doesn't seem like they deserve your kindness. It's important to realize, that they are all people, and that they should be treated how you want to be treated - to the best of your abilities!

See you next week!

Feel free to contact me at arcticstarjamaa@gmail.com !