Let's Gather 'Round the Campfire and Sing Our Campfire Song

[employeeoftheyear]

[Well last week Spongebob decided that the Wizard was nothing but a big fucker and everything was all his fault so he is going to kick his "Boost the moral of his friends" scheme into overdrive to rub it in the Wizard's stupid face.

Around the school on Monday, there will be Spongebob's huge mass of fliers again, this time for some sort of camp out.]


Spongebob Squarepants Crazy Camping Party!!!
Come to the edge of the forest on Monday at 5 pm for a whole night of roasting marshmallows, telling Spoooooky stories, and sleeping under the stars!
Don't worry if it rains, we can always bring the camp inside!

Attendance is MANDATORY!!! I will come find you if you don't attend.

[And he absolutely means it.

Even though there are no stars, it's a comfortable evening with no real signs of rain, and Spongebob's managed to set up a cozy Spongebob set out a bunch of blankets, towels, and pillows around a cozy campfire. There are plenty of food you'd normally see at a camp out, including smores! Spongebob seems to have gone all out and brought in practically every kind of candy from the kitchen, so have fun with the sugar rush!]

Comments

[mayavericks]

[Like Maya is going to tell Spongebob no! She was already planning a different campout for this week, so really... what's one more?

Even though Spongebob is cooking, Maya takes some time stabbing holes in potatoes and wrapping each of them in tin foil. She tucks them against the embers of the flame, and then sits down beside it. You can't go wrong with a baked potato, okay!

She's also here to roast marshmallows. Sometimes she might leave one in a little too long. She kind of looks... a little too delighted by the flames? Uhhh...

Of course, when the spooky stories start up, Maya might start to slink off to the edge of the group. Maybe she looked a little paler than usual? Someone might have even noticed her shaking just a little. That's weird, right? Maybe you should go check on her?

Regardless of whether she's checked on, as the night winds down, Maya will settle at the edge of camp. She isn't sleeping, though. Instead she has her sword out, and she's looking back toward the school with something close to a glower. A challenge.

Try and take this from them.]

edge of the camp

[feudalladyshandmaid]

Watching the school?

[Cassandra had settled near the opposite end of the camp, looking out into the forest with her sword ready. Her attention strays, however, to the other sword lesbian in the group. And soon she's come over.]

[howtheworldwas]

[ Eurydice arrives a little later to the party, mainly because she does not understand why anyone would sleep under the stars for fun. But Spongebob tracking her down and looking very disappointed in her sounds much less fun, so here she is!

She'll be paying close attention to the fire and to the weather, so you might catch her looking up at the sky quite a bit. You can also help her find extra firewood. She'll be wandering off into the dark woods for this, but don't worry about it.

When the spooky stories start, Eurydice will tell the ones she knows from the road. She swears they're true -- it happened to a friend of a friend!

Eventually, as the night wears on, Eurydice will start to relax. In some ways, she looks comfortable here. In her own element. An outdoor camp is familiar to her, and this one is safer than most. It might be her favorite so far.

When the time comes to go to sleep, Eurydice will be checking up on people she thinks aren't as accustomed to sleeping outdoors as she is (which is to say, pretty much everyone), to see if they're more or less safe and comfortable. Then, she'll sit by the dying fire, and keep watch for a little while longer. ]

firewood

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Cassandra happened to notice Eurydice watching the sky, and just as she was heading off into the forest for more firewood. Well, it's probably not difficult to catch up with her...]

It's dangerous to go out here by yourself. [she says, patting the sword by her side.]

firewood

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine just kinda. Takes a step after Eurydice. ]

Hey. Campout's right here, not the woods.

Spooky Stories

[whatyouwant]

Yes! I love scary stories! [Elle is LISTENING. Hell, it seems even Bruiser is interested.]

[mcfife]

[Angus had hoped to spend some more time with Elle, but if he wants to prevent more murders from happening, he has to touch the hearts of the others. Spongebob has a good idea, nothing like an outdoors meal. Angus helps with setting up the campfire, pulling out some chairs, pillows, and supplies for the others, then helping to start up the fire. Afterwards, he takes a seat, striking up conversation with his neighbors.]

It's a bit chilly for the lizards, isn't it? Shame, I hoped that they could partake in our feast.

[Once the spooky stories are brought up, he immediately grins.]

Oh, have I got a classic! There are many tales of pirates in my world, not just from Fife, but from around the world. Some seek adventure, many seek power. This is one about a pirate who sought revenge against two others that wronged him.

[brokeforgood]

We can bring them some treats later! [Farrah's out here, with Ruddiger in tow-- he alternates between Farrah's lap (because Farrah always has good treats, and she's still too brokenhearted not to share) and the treeline. She's sitting by the fire, wrapped in a blanket like a burrito, and any time she's seen Angus and Elle together, she's been humming the same tune she sang to him earlier that day.]

Either later tonight, or in the morning. Or maybe we can make them their own breakfast feast!

Spooky Stories

[defyingfrigidity]

Revenge?

[Elsa preferred stories with more of a fantasy twist, but. This sort of thing is kind of fun, in terms of all of them growing closer. So she'll listen intently.]

I've never heard of someone becoming a pirate for revenge. The stories I've heard have them become mercenaries or assassins instead.

Wildcard!

[whatyouwant]

[Elle approches with a couple of sticks and a bowl with the makings of s'mores.]

Do they make s'mores in your space kingdom?

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ No one can possibly say no to Spongebob. Orpheus arrives to the campout with Eurydice, looking a little more excited than she is, though he's also a little hesitant, keeping a wary eye on the cloud cover. Still, he's brought a hasty apple cobbler he threw together, and his lyre guitar slung across his back. He settles down next to Eurydice, portioning out bits of cobbler in little tinfoil parcels and settling them near the fire to reheat.

When it comes time for stories, Orpheus lights up, picking up his guitar. ]

This one's a little more sad than scary. [ he says, thoughtfully. ] But I think it might be appropriate? It's the story of Medusa and Perseus. My mom told it to me, a long time ago.

[ After that, he'll happily roast marshmallows with the others, though he has a bit of trouble preventing his from melting off the stick and falling into the fire the first couple of times. Eventually he seems to get the hang of it, though, making smores and laughing with the others. He seems relaxed, and while there are occasional moments where he stares off at in the direction of the garden in silence, he'll quickly snap out of it if he notices anyone looking.

Eventually, he falls asleep near Eurydice, curled by her watchful form on a blanket near the fire. ]

Stories

[defyingfrigidity]

[Ah... Elsa knows that one. A few versions, of course; the ones she read as a child, that took out most of the terrible things that happened before Medusa became a gorgon, and the ones she read as an adult. It always seemed... sad, to her, that Medusa was punished so terribly for doing nothing wrong.]

I'd love to hear it.

[Orpheus is a good man, a kind man. A tale of Medusa he would tell must lean quite heavily on the unfairness of her situation, right?]

marshmallows

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah's less than helpful at first as he keeps. Dropping his marshmallows into the fire. But eventually, probably just about the time that her laughter is getting kind of mean, she leans over---]

Okay, you've gotta stick it on there further, and hold it above the fire, not in it.

Roast Marshmallow

[employeeoftheyear]

[As Spongebob sees Orpheus struggle with the marshmallows, he laughs and offers him his own roasted marshmallow.]

Don't tell me you've never done this before! Roasting marshmallows is the best part about camping!

[fourbutts]

[ Janis is way less difficult to pull out here than one might think, considering her relatively sub-par mood recently! She's from Chicago (or New York, depending on which part of her you consider real), and as such sleeping outside is a novelty!

So for a while she can be found roasting marshmallows, just... one after another. Pounding those fuckers. Hell yeah.

Will Graham is, of course, here to supervise. He is now dyed entirely blue.

But then. Then scary stories happens. And somehow, in her gut, both as a narrator and as an edgy teen, she knows what she has to do.

cw: death, dismemberment, parental abuse ]

This happened at a school one of my friends goes to, just... hear me out.

Sara Berry was a popular bitch.
Hot bod, hot boy, cheer captain, plus she was rich.
That girl had everything till hiccup and hitch:
Julie Jenkins lost a leg in a wreck. (Am—pu—ta—ted)
The nominations for Prom Royalty came
Our Sara's Senior Year, and Queen was her claim—
Till gossip stirred the student body would name
Julie Jenkins, Queen of the Prom.

[ She gets. Very into it. Turns out the narrator is good at scary stories! ]

"Sara, " her father said, "Life is a Prom.
I know you won't disappoint me and Mom...?"
You taste the silver, Sara! You taste the crown.
You thirst for blood from the roses in hand.
You spoil for sash and scepter, music to dance,
As they crown you Queen of High School Land.

So obsessed, our Sara near lost her mind.
To life un-Prom-related, Sara was blind;
She shoved her squad, her clique and boyfriend behind—
Still one-leg Julie held to the lead.
Soon Sara's sanity was hung by a thread,
Her B.F.F.'s proclaimed her socially dead,
Till then, at last, her boyfriend texted and said:
"I'm taking Julie to the senior Prom."

"Sara, " her father said, "Why be so calm?
There's just no future for a Princess at Prom..."
You taste the silver, Sara! You taste the crown.
You thirst for blood from the roses in hand.
You spoil for sash and scepter, music to dance,
As they crown you Queen of High School Land.
Woah-oh-oh-oh, Oh, Oh!
Down on your knees before the Queen.
Woah-oh-oh-oh, Oh, Oh!
Down on your knees before the Queen.

Some girls are rational but Sara was not
She stared in mirrors thinking one single thought:
There's seven reasons this crown's not good as got—
And so the night of Prom, mercy! Thus went her plot:
"P" is for Patricia, drinking poisoned punch.
"R" is for Raquel, dashed on a rock (crunch)
"O" is what Anne said when Sara bludgeoned her brains
And "M" is Marianna's marinated remains.
But! But!
"Q" is for Quiara, quiet, drowned in the pool.
"U" is for Eunice's pieces spread round the school
But "E's" are for the easy way in five minutes tops
A one-legg'd girl can bring an "N" for end by calling the cops.

You got your silver Sara, you got your crown
You got their blood on your roses in hand
You donned the sash and scepter, doing a dance,
As you crowned you Queen of High School Land!
Woah-oh-oh-oh, Oh, Oh!
God save the Queen...
Down on your knees before the Queen.
God save the Queen.
Woah-oh-oh-oh, Oh, Oh!
The Queen of High School Land.
Down on your knees before the Queen.
The Queen of High School Land.

They wrapped your wrists in silver, they took your crown
As they washed your bloody fingers and hands.
Into a tight straitjacket, small padded cell,
As you screamed, "I'm Queen of High School Land!"
At least in your head, you're Queen of High School Land
Pity the dead! You're Queen of High School Land.

[ Then she sort of. Coughs. Clears her throat. ]

Or at least, that's what I heard.

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah listens to the whole story. Maybe it's something she should be unsettled by, given, you know-- her background.

But by the end, she's clapping, and she sits up taller in her seat.]

That's pretty good. But if you want to make it even scarier, it's not a popular girl at all. It's some loser who became cheer captain just because no one else ran.

I call my edit RIP The Worst Team Ever.

[mayavericks]

[Yeah, uh. Maya is practically in Janis's lap at the start of the story. By the end? She's as far from Janis as possible, practically tucking into the woods to hide.]

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[It's literally impossible to say no to Spongebob. Even in her depressed state, Spongebob coming to find her is enough to bring Cassandra out of her funk, and out to the party at the edge of the forest. Sleeping outside like this... it reminds her of simpler times. Happier times.

There's no extra food being brought to the campout, but Cass has something just as good! Her owl, Owl, her snowgie, and her sword! Which she's wearing at her side after a day or so of leaving it back in Longacre. With it, she sits near the edge of the party, very occasionally glancing out into the forest. Watching. Waiting.

She's guarding the group. Even if she doesn't have to... Hey, you never know... right?

But that's later into the night, as the fun and games die down. Right now, Cass is closer to the group, and the fire. She has to be to make smores. She's got like, three going right now. Either she's hungry or, hopefully, she's planning to share.

Owl coos at her from his perch atop her right shoulder. She glances at him.]

It'll be done when it's ready. Just a bit longer. [ahem.] So, uh... who wants to hear a scary story?

[defyingfrigidity]

[Seeing Cass bond with such a fierce predator... it's adorable. Really it is. Elsa doesn't mind owls; they were beautiful birds, with imposing features that just seemed to add to that, rather than take away. But she always thought of them as solitary creatures. So for Cass to have one so clearly attached to her... it speaks volumes about Cass herself.

... As does the little conversation Cass seems to be having with Owl. Elsa laughs, moving just a little closer to where Cass is camped out by the fire.]

Trying to convince you to give him some treats, is he?

[comeandfindme]

[ The main reason Peregrine is here? To keep an eye on everyone else. She sees edge of the forest and her whole body tenses up, but—

But she won't let anyone wander off. If a single person takes a step into the woods, she's on them like a hawk. ]

Hey. Already looked out there, nothing interesting. Sit back down around the fire.

[ Speaking of the fire, she also spends time tending to it, making sure it doesn't die down too much or flare up. She's quite serious about it all, it seems.

Beyond that? Peregrine's hauled an encyclopedia and a several novels out, and she'll spend her time reading them. They all have a common thread, it seems, both the pages she's dogeared and marked with post-its and the books:

Each and every one is about ghosts. ]

[mayavericks]

[Maya's just starting to cozy up to Peregrine, maybe even try to slyly lay her head on her shoulder but -- stops short.]

What are you... reading, Peregrine.

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah’s trying. She’s trying really hard to be herself again. She shows up to camp with Ruddiger in tow; her giant tote of a purse jammed full with snacks, and her flask full of diet coke. She has the stuffed Rum Tum Tugger tucked under one arm, one of Rina’s sonic plushies tucked under the other, and a fully loaded water gun. She’s ready to make this a good night.

She sits by the campfire for the most part, bundled like a burrito in a blanket trying to stay as warm as possible. Trying to feel as alive as possible. She’s constantly cooking marshmallows, and Ruddiger’s getting over half of them.

After Peregrine brings the books, she can be found hunched over the S encyclopedia, though she’s a little early in the volume to be looking for summoning rituals, or anything about spirits.]

Holy shit— what?!

[When the ghost stories start up, Farrah gets excited.]

I know what we should do! Who has a mirror? I think the vending machine was giving out compacts, anyone got one?

Let’s play Bloody Mary!

[defyingfrigidity]

[..... Uhhhhhh.]

Bloody Mary?

[She. Does not like the sound of that!]

Is that some sort of... game?

[whatyouwant]

[Elle will help set up, arranging the pillows and blankets for maximum comfort and socializing potential. She also prepares a veggie tray when she sees just how much candy Spongebob is brining out.

At the mention of spooky stories, Elle begins to spin one of her own...]

And when she looked in the bathroom mirror the morning of Homecoming her face was BRIGHT ORANGE![Pause for dramatic effect.] And that's why you should never get a discount spray tan. [Okay, so she's probably the only one who thought it was scary.

Later on, she will take to showing off all the tricks Bruiser can do! For the first one she places a piece of hot dog on his nose.]

Wait. [Surprisingly he does, though it's clear it's a hard thing for him to muster. After a moment Elle cheerfully calls] Get it!

[Bruiser flips his head up, tossing the treat into the air, and catches it in his mouth before it can hit the ground.]

[defyingfrigidity]

[It's hard to get Elsa out of a funk when she really sinks deep into it. She's still reeling over what happened to Varian and Rina, and seeing the shock run through all the others is affecting her just as much. But Spongebob has always been a shining light to all of them, and she can tell that he needs to be happy as much as he wants others to be happy... so she agrees. How could she not?

For a while, she doesn't really talk all that much. She sits close to the campfire, watching as Bruni happily runs over the logs and through the flames, adding his pretty blue-and-purple flames to what's already there.



Later, when she's settled in a bit more, she can be found over by the supplies Spongebob has brought out, specifically the s'mores. She examines all the snacks curiously, picking up a chocolate bar and a marshmallow at the same time.]

Um... what are we supposed to do with these?

[Won't chocolate melt in a fire???]

GHOSTS???

[comeandfindme]

[ At some point once the night's worn on and the sun's set, Peregrine moves from her relatively solitary position by the fire, standing up and pulling something from her cloak.

It's a hand-made Ouija Board. ]

Hey guys. Who wants to talk to some ghosts?

[ The answer, for the record, is all of you, because guess who's determined? It's Peregrine. ]

[mayavericks]

[An angry spirit looms over Peregrine.

Just kidding, it's just Maya.]

No. We are not doing that.

[sugarlumps]

[LSP is here. Spongebob might've had to drag her, sorry Spongebob. But she's here.]

[It, uh. Takes a while for her to stop sulking at the edges of everything.]

-and then he just kind of lumping tripped and fell in and was all "NOOOO, I WASN'T INVITED" and disappeared into a cloud of dust and pointy teeth, it was pretty awesome.

[Later on, if no one's had the good sense to stop her, she's taken over some of the cooking duties and is stirring what can best be described as a small cauldron of beans and weenies over the fire.]

If you can't, like, find your own beans in the woods storebought's fine. But then you usually have to pay for them and junk. Anyway, either way they're super good with a little bit of hotsauce and junk mixed in.

[mcfife]

You forage for beans in the wild?

[This princess is becoming more and more impressive each time he sees her!]

[barberic]

[Despite being one of the stragglers that Spongebob will have to come find, he can't manage a compelling enough argument to justify actually staying away.

Nonetheless, he claims a blanket to sit on and sits at the edge of the party, a sturdy bulwark against the darkness. He seems content to watch without participating in most of the events, not too interested in roasting marshmallows or weenies, or eating much at all. He seems content to watch the merriment of others, for the most part. Except the times when he's moreso staring off into nothing, his gaze unfocused out into the darkness around them.

One thing he does participate in, however, is the scary stories, coming to life for a little while to relay a scary story.]

And though another family tried to move in after the Proctors were gone, it wasn't long after before they, too, were driven out.

The house sits empty to this very day. But some say that on quiet nights, you can still ride by and see the ghostly priest, watching from the window...

[After storytime, he's slightly more animated, although by the time that the ouija board comes out he's lapsed back into the on-again off-again attentiveness, not basking but...enjoying the merriment of everyone else.

[brokeforgood]

[He might not have much interest in it—- but when Farrah catches him staring into nothing, she does the only thing she can do in this moment. She turns back to the fire.

Then, about five minutes later, she flops down on the blanket beside him, and thrusts a very gooey s’more at him. ]

Eat this.