CAMP ALPHA: for everyone who wanted a crossover between summercamp and Ghost Adventures

[indigo_league]

Who: Everyone who came to Camp Alph
Where: The Ruins of Alph
When: July 18th-21st
Summary: This is a log for all the camping shenanigans your heart desires! For part 2 of the event, there will be a second log to keep the ensuing seance situation separate from the all-purpose ruin-exploration adventures. Participation in part 2 will be entirely voluntary, so feel free to tag on part 1 as long as you like! For more information about this event, check out the info post over here!
Rating: PG-13
Log:


Been to the Ruins of Alph before? Are you an old hat at this stuff? Well turn everything you thought you knew UPSIDE DOWN because EVERYTHING. IS DIFFERENT NOW.

… Or at least, that’s what the flyers being passed out under a canopy of cheap Celebi balloons that are bobbing around in the breeze say.

One thing’s for sure, there sure are a lot more tents than normal. By the time most of you casuals get there, the entire picnicking area, usually quite spacious, has been turned into a small tent city. And the excited atmosphere is palpable.

The crackle of the Ruin Rangers’ walkie-talkies mingles with that of the ghost-hunting equipment toted around by excited Hex Maniacs, burbling Unown are drifting here and there to blink curiously at all the new people and Pokemon suddenly on their turf, and chatter from Legend Seekers of all ages (really, of ALL ages-- everyone from Youngsters to Veterans have apparently been swept up in the Seeker-mania!) rings out as stories and speculations are swapped.

There’s lots to do, plenty to explore, and (according to word on the grapevine), more than enough spooky rituals to perform once the night falls.

Will you solve some tile puzzles and fall into an underground chamber? Stick to the main group and make s’mores? Befriend a floating letter (or twenty-four)? Go directly against the advice of the tired-looking Rangers and play One Man Hide-and-Seek in the dark?

Or, most importantly, will you start a small-scale riot in order to keep the loud static boxes away from the tents where you’re trying to sleep?

Comments

B

[lifebloomsanew]

[Ghost hunting isn't an outdoor only activity!]

[Rose has wandered in on her epic quest to meet ghosts, and isn't paying too much attention to the actual people in the room...until she notices it's her shapeshifting friend and oh, she understands that look she's getting.]

[Luckily, Rose is an excellent diversion. She's big. She's bright pink. She's wearing a Legend Seeker's t-shirt and here she is looming over the perturbed archaeologist.]

Excuse me sir! I was just outside and I saw.... [What's a believable thing that could be causing a problem?] Rowdy youths out there.... [Doing what that needed immediate attention?] Trying to eat the ruins!

[She'd certainly want to attend to that immediately. If nothing else, she's sure it'll distract the archaeologist - even if he's just very confused.]

[be_notorious]

"Hey, how are those pearly whites holdin' up by the way, in the face of a whole influx of hard food. Seems like you're doin' pretty well."

He leans forward, elbows on his knees, waiting for her to either pass him the stuff or to give him the finished gooey goodness. He'll take either, thanks.

"I'm doin' alright. Nothin' to complain about." Considering he slept inside a Hydra before? This is one of his more comfortable camping experiences. "Tryin' to learn more about these Legendaries for basic, you know, makin' sure they don't have no deep space enemies to give us a hard time later purposes." This is a very relevant, very important topic.

oh boy oh boy

[cyan_maid]

[She hadn't even seen anyone else when she'd fallen - just the single J, always hanging around for her. Somehow, it always knew where she'd pop in next. It was kind of amusing, really - if it kept on for much longer, she would be tempted to ask if it'd like to come home with her. The J Unkown bobs a little at her words before perking up somewhat as Dirk opens his mouth.

And, honestly? A chill goes down her spine when she hears that familiar voice. She doesn't hunch up or freeze, but there's no disguising the twitch downwards to her mouth as she turns to face him.]

...So actually being sincere with someone you've known for years is above you, yet you'll stoop low enough to go camping? Well! Color me surprised.

[The Unown bobs closer to her, eye blinking. Uh-oh. What's it walked into this time?]

How tall was Adult Jane? This narrator will never say.

[uber_marionettist]

[It's somewhat disconcerting to be reminded of the disparity--or lack thereof. Funny thing about growth; how much you grow and when you gain those inches is incredibly variable. Dirk, for example, just happened to stop growing after everything wrapped, and for the most part, everyone around him kept going.

He's built himself up anyway, adding muscle (and some scar tissue) instead of height, but he still had to grow the scruff to avoid seeing his own adolescent face in the mirror well into his twenties. He adapted.

So being embarrassed by something as petty as standing nearly eye-to-eye with the teenage doppelganger of a grown woman? Nah.

That would just be pathetic.]

Who's being insincere?

[He crosses his arms smoothly, presenting a stony front; he holds his expression steady. Perfect.]

I thought we'd agreed we don't know each other.

[colorpalatable]

"No problems so far!" Not that she expects any. Her pointy demon teeth were perfectly good for eating solid food before she became a vampire, and they're still perfectly good now that she's not.

She passes over the raw s'mores ingredients - everybody s'mores differently, so the best results are usually the ones you make yourself.

"...Aww, butts, that didn't even occur to me. I really hope they don't. This place is way too nice to be demolished by some cranky space monster."

[bent_the_world]

"Maybe. I have no idea what the spirit world here is like."

She's never tried to enter it on those weird wild weekends when she could. Maybe next time.

"If I was a spirit, I'd probably just use this to mess with people."

[be_notorious]

"See what I'm sayin'? My world was all nice an' comfortable an' then we got a bunch of unwanted visitors. An' I would like to be pretty sure that these legendaries didn't make enemies with somethin' that'd wanna make it real hard on ever'body.

"Though this place kinda lives by sword logic to a lesser degree. Just it ain't the humans that do it. It's the pokemon."

He lines up the chocolate and cracker bits and puts the marshmallow on a stick because that's fine for him, he's not picky, and puts it over the fire.

"Ah... sword logic is what the 'Hive' live by. Vex too, a little bit. It's not just survival of the fittest, but it's constant battle to be the fittest. Ya dig? This battlin' thing is a little like sword logic."

[ghoststanning]

[If you thought Ray wouldn't be all over this, you're dead wrong. Sure, he's already thoroughly investigated the Ruins and all its puzzles but like heck is he going to miss out on this!

He spends most of his time hanging out with Hex Maniacs and more "sophisticated" lovers of the paranormal, chatting about paranormal sightings and seance techniques.

When he does hang out with the Legend Seeker's seance plans, he is completely skeptical about the whole thing, as seen with him examining the "Spirit Box".]

Is... is this just a radio?

[??? What? Do people seriously think that a ghost would find this useful???

But, of course, he's all over the campfire stuff too! He didn't bring any real food of his own (besides some self heating meals and snacks for his pokemon, which he almost always takes with him on camping trips), so he appreciates some free food! It reminds him of camping out with his family! He spends a lot of time chatting up with everyone and telling spooky stories, either from home or various horror stories he's heard of (did you kids ever hear about polybius?)

However, when it's time to make smores, he frowns at the bag of marshmallows.]

... One of these days I can eat these guys without thinking about the Gozer incident and I hope that day is soon.

[It's fine.]

[ghoststanning]

[The Bulbasaur squeaks as Ray gently takes him off his back. He fuses a tiny bit but, realizes that he can't cling to Ray's back forever. Egon can ask questions about the supernatural for now; Ray can listen in.

Besides he has to gush about Frog Son.]

He's adorable! He slapped Egon when we first met but I think he's a real sweetheart when you get past his anger.

Also his name's Kermit.

[neverstudied]

God, I really have become the bird-and-cat guy, huh. At least I'm rubbing off on you. Hopefully that doesn't mean I'll start picking up fungi and eels.

Yeah, Spengs- it's a lot of cheap Hasbro Ouija boards, improperly done salt circles, and tinfoil hats. There's some people who look like they know what they're doing, and then others running around with junk they call "Spirit Boxes". No actual ghosts, 'cept the Ghost Pokemon people already have. Definitely no humanoid ghosts.

... Damn. Why haven't we been naming more Pokemon after Muppets?

[pkemeter]

[Egon frowns lightly, his tone disappointed as he speaks.]

That's unfortunate. If they advertise themselves to be spirit hunters, the least they can do is invest in the proper equipment, lest they recieve faulty readings. Don't they know that spirits can only communicate through Ouija Boards when no one is touching the actual board?

[He shakes his head. Amateurs. And here he thought the Legend Seekers were professionals....]

What are spirit boxes?

[pkemeter]

Consider your average s'more. Graham crackers. Marshmallow. Chocolate. Then, consider the following additions--rainbow sprinkles, coconut flakes, honeycomb pieces, and sugar frosted cereal.

[Egon says this all in the tone of a science teacher telling someone about the universe. He starts pulling plastic bags out of his backpack, all of them things that he named. Where the hell did he get them? Had he been keeping them in his bag the whole time and just snacking on straight up sprinkles? Probably!

He places the bags on the ground and then pulls out a disposable paper bowl to put the s'mores in. Faraday peers down at it curiously, too busy sticking marshmallows on a twig.]

Of course, eating it as such will require a larger container, unless you enjoy sticky fingers.

[ghoststanning]

[Ray's not cuddling Kermit, looking pretty disappointed.]

Are we talking "kids who don't know any better" don't know what they're doing or "Bassingame" don't know what they're doing? I need to know how annoyed I'm going to get at them.

Campfire

[ghoststanning]

[Ray's been chilling by the campfire roasting marshmallows when he can't help but notice Jane's setup. He eyes the spices and pots with wonder.]

Whoa, is this all yours?

Jump Scare

[ghoststanning]

[Ray doesn't even bat an eye as he just waves at her as if seeing a good pal.]

Hi! Are you looking for ghosts too?

[:)]

[neverstudied]

Weird electronic things that use radio waves or something, apparently? Mostly they're just loud and screechy. Even if they do work, there might be too much radio interference in this place.

And I really doubt they work.

[Technology bad thomas edison was a witch]

I think it's mostly people who don't know any better- not like they're trying to make a profit, after all, not like Bassingame. Still- it's stupid. Worst case scenario, people could get hurt if a ghost decides they're sick of these games.

And unlike Bassingame, we don't have the equipment to deal if the worst case scenario happens. Just Pokemon... which'll hopefully be enough.

[Always the optimist.]

[pkemeter]

[As the conversation continues, Egon pats Sir Wigglesworth on the snout before returning him to his containment unit. He pauses for a moment, an expression of increasing bewilderment appearing on his face as he looks between Venkman and Ray.

He clears his throat to interrupt.]

...Who is Bassingame?

[He assumes this is another dimensional difference.]

[ghoststanning]

Ugh, Bassingame is the worst snake oil salesman you could deal with! He labels himself as a spiritualist, but you can tell he doesn't know a thing about ghosts from a mile away! He makes it all up for a quick buck and not only makes people like us look like frauds, but he puts innocent people in danger!

Aunt Lois hired him once and he just angered the benevolent spirits of the household and caused them to trash her house! And he had the nerve to try to charge her for it!

[Wow Ray seems, genuinely angry talking about him.]

[neverstudied]

Exactly! [Louder, directed at the Pokemaniac:] Exactly! Jesus Christ, man, it's not that hard to understand.

[The PokeManiac stutters a nervous agreement, taking a few more steps back and offering excuses for why he has to go right now immediately-]

Yeah, get outta here- you better hope I don't see ya again later.

[...]

Anyway. Just let me know when you want me to go grab the Doduo.

[As casually as though the last few minutes didn't just happen...]

nsfw text

[neverstudied]

He also fucked my dad.

[not even god himself can stop me from claiming that as canonical.]

[pkemeter]

[There's a solid ten seconds of silence.]

He what?

[ghoststanning]

... Which part are you asking about, exactly?

[The dad fucking or the shitty ghost defaming stuff.]

[pkemeter]

I understood the part about him being a coniving fraud, but not the comment about--

[He clears his throat, looking somewhat lost.]

[colorpalatable]

[Hey, that's cool too!]

Nah, not really. Mostly just exploring. What kinds of ghosts are you looking for?

[ghoststanning]

That's cool! I've already explored these places quite a bit if you want any pointers.

[Ray definately spent a week here even though it only takes a day to fully explore this place.]

I'm trying to find some humanoid ghosts! I know technically there's Yamask, but there's a lot of types of ghost Pokemon so it's plausible that multiple forms of human ghosts exist here.