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

[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."

[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."

[colorpalatable]

"Yeah, I get you. I've heard some crazy stories about some of these legendary guys. It definitely wouldn't be too out there to think there's even more craziness that no one knows about, yet."

The girls have all had their berries, so now it's time for Marceline to have her snack. She also spears a marshmallow on a twig - because you don't have to wash twigs after you're finished with them - and gets busy roasting.

"So basically no one where you're from is satisfied unless they're fighting, huh? I mean, fighting can be fun sometimes, but I don't get fighting all the time. The world's so much nicer when everyone just chills, you know?"

[be_notorious]

"Sorta. There's also this other idea. The Traveller's dogma, where you should just give generously and without hesitation. Problem is the people who got everything handed to 'em could do crap to take care of 'emselves when somethin' with sword logic rolled in. And it happened over an' over an' over and the Traveller bailed on 'em each time. Anyway, yeah, I'd rather just take it easy." He absolutely agrees there as he turns the marshmallow.

"At least the things here into sword logic don't seem to be much for killin' an' they don't got a hate on for us. I'll take the big enemies from space if they come padded with a heavy layer of 'not gonna kill humans', know what I'm sayin'."

[colorpalatable]

"Yeah, I hear that. I guess maybe we'll find out this weekend!" Or not. Either way, Marceline's pretty happy. She removes her marshmallow from the fire to check on it, sees it's not nearly done enough, and pops it back in.

"I saw a bunch of ouija boards in the Legend Seeker's little camp. Even if we don't find out anything good, I think this is gonna be good anyway."

Marceline is very down for whatever teenage girl slumber party shenanigans these clowns get up to. Whatever it is promises to be entertaining, if nothing else.

[be_notorious]

"If anyone brought a deck of tarot cards I could probably pull off a few tricks for ya." He jokes, running one of his coins over his fingers in a quick trick. Fuck knows where it came from. He probably has them hid all over his body.

Then he holds up and looks at it.

"You know, back home? This changes its symbol every time it turns. So it's more like it's a seven-sided coin. The ones that came with me here are just stuck. Hell if I know why."

Seeing Marceline's isn't done yet, he doesn't even bother with his quite yet. Besides, it doesn't really look all that done.

"Maybe I can get a pokemon to fix that."

[colorpalatable]

She watches the coin trick, and peers curiously at the coin when it stops moving and explains its unusual property.

"Oh yeah? Is it magic? Or tech? Or some unholy and forbidden combination of the two?"

[be_notorious]

"Ah, but I wouldn't be able to pull off magic if I said that." He chuckles, and then puts his hand next to his ear and like the slight of hand champion he is? Seems to pull a jade coin out of there.

He has several of the things though, coming with his pockets full of them as always. So he goes ahead and puts that one in her hand.

"Keep it. I owe you for the smores."

[colorpalatable]

"Are you sure? Thanks, dude!"

Look, she's not going to argue about a gift, even if she's pretty sure the coin in her hand is worth a lot more than one s'more. Or even ten s'mores. It's a pretty sizable chunk of jade, if nothing else, and even if conversion rates are wonky (or nonexistent), it's definitely got some material value.

But speaking of s'mores, her marshmallow is starting to turn black, so she pulls it away from the fire. It continues to burn even away from the main flame like a delicious, sugary torch, so she blows it out with a quick huff. Once the blackened mess is extinguished, she begins to assemble her s'more.

"If you can find a Pokemon to get your coins unstuck, let me know, okay? I want to see them do their thing."

[be_notorious]

"Yeah, I just gotta find the pokemon that bend reality some, right? Which ain't as far off as you'd reckon." His own marshmallow is plenty toasty, so he slaps that onto his waiting chocolate and smooshes the other graham cracker down on it roughly. Gotta wait for the melting to happen now, as much as he'd like to put it immediately in his face.

"I don't mean to the extent of these legendary ones. Just talkin' minor stuff. Or maybe one of those that deal with rock. Jade is rock."

He turns another of his coins over his knuckles, tosses it off another rock. Catches it on the rebound.

[colorpalatable]

Her s'more is assembled and the heat of the marshmallow is still visibly melting the chocolate, but she takes a big bite anyway. YOLO!

"MMmph! Hot!" She'd known it would be but she'd done it anyway. Self restraint in the face of delicious food is for other people. She breathes in and blows out a couple of fast breaths, a mostly futile attempt to cool the heat in her mouth, before chewing quickly and swallowing. Drifter's coin trick is a good distraction from the sweet, sugary hell she has wrought in her own mouth, and she lets out an appropriately impressed "Ooooh!" when he bounces and catches the coin.

"Mmm--yeah! There's hundreds of these little guys. And not so little guys. If there are actual ghosts and psychics, there's definitely gotta be one that can figure out your coins."

[be_notorious]

If his mouth could still heal instantly? He absolutely would have pulled the same thing. He has just enough self-preservation in his newly regained human body that he doesn't down the snack and scorch his soft palate. Only mildly burn it.

"You all right there? You don't need me to call a medic, do ya?" He pokes fun lightly, before shrugging it.

"I got a pretty good Meowstic. Maybe if she stops creepin' everybody the hell out I can use her."

[colorpalatable]

"Mmmmnope! I'm fine!"

Are there tears in her eyes? Maybe. Or maybe it's just a trick of the firelight. Either way, she has another bite of her delicious, delicious camp snack. Can't stop won't stop.

"That's the cute little cat with the unblinking stare, right?

[be_notorious]

"Oh she's all grown up now. And looks even more like the creepshow I named her after."

He pulls out Orin's pokeball and tosses it lightly, letting her out. And she proceeds to do her usual stare, but now in dulcet Meowstic tones. She actually floats by, just finding things she wants to fix her gaze on.

One of those bat babies seems like the perfect target.



[OOC: Meowstic vs Orin]

[colorpalatable]

"Why'd you name her after a creep show?"

Marceline watches Orin float around and fixate on...her hair? She puts up one hand to see which of her bat barrettes has been chosen as the focus of the Meowstic's gaze and finds Zubat. As one of the two bats in her hair with no visible eyes, Zubat seems unconcerned. Marceline is a little less sure. Maybe she's just answered her own question.

She shifts where she sits, moving her own face to interrupt the gaze of the Meowstic, replacing Zubat's eyeless little face with hers. Just because she's physically unable to mesmerize with her eyes anymore doesn't stop her from staring the cat down - she's over a thousand years old and not easily intimidated.

"Yo. These ones are off limits, babe."

[be_notorious]

"Because she's a creep show. Turned up in the woods, didn't find her or nothin'. Just started followin' me."

Talking about Orin isn't easy in the context of what she was to him. She was his closest friend when she was a human, she later was his closest friend as a guardian. And then she wasn't. She was gone, and serving their own version of legendaries.

He hates the games that godlike beings come with. He's been a part of too many of them. He's sure if they're showing up here, they're the part of someone else's game.

"Come on, Orin." He reaches out and puts his hand over her head and pulls her back, and like he's redirecting a roomba he just points her off a different way. "Go find someone else to watch."

[colorpalatable]

Marceline knows a few creep shows back in Ooo, but she certainly won't be naming any of her 'mons after them. There must be more to Drifter's creep show than he's letting on, but if it's a sensitive topic she's not going to push it. He's been pretty darn open about general stuff from his world. Less so about people. Actually, if she's remembering right, this may be the first time he's mentioned someone specific to her. But hey, he can keep people secrets if he wants. Sometimes that's just how people roll.

Anyway, while his relaxed manner when redirecting Orin is reassuring, she continues to watch the Meowstic suspiciously even when it's no longer staring at Zubat.

"I guess that's as good a reason as any to adopt one of these guys."

She hasn't run into any Pokemon quite like that yet, though. So far her strategy for catching 'mons has been to let Noibat out and see if there was anyone nearby she wanted to make friends with. They've had excellent luck so far.

"Hey, speaking of, did you ever make it out to check out the bug swarms? I never did see anything that really caught my eye, but they were sure a heck of a lot of fun to battle."

[be_notorious]

"Nah, I didn't get to do nothin'. I was busy settin' somethin' up. I sure wish I had, though."

He really, really wanted some new guys to add to his roster. He still only has six. He figures he'll have 'em levelled up before they manage anything.

"But I got a habit of gettin' lost with my work. I mean, I prolly don't look like it, or sound like it, but I'm the type o' guy that loses track of time."

He's far too used to having whole centuries to lose.

"I worked out some racin' routes for one of my competition ideas."