Feb Festival Day 25

[pensnest]

A story that spawned an inside joke.

Where did you put the lava lamp?

Do you want me to explain?


For my own contribution, I nominate Home Cooking.

See, several years ago there was a popslash Christmas card exchange in which we sent cards 'from' our recipient's nominated favourite boy(s). My recipient (Ephemera—who seems to have inspired an incredible number of my fics) wanted Chris, Lance and Nick. Well, I decided that Chris and Lance (and Joey - probably because that seemed reasonable at the time) would send recipies. They roped Justin and JC into including their own. Lance's recipe was Mississippi Cornbread; Joey's was Fatone Chicken. Justin sent a fruit cobbler recipe and JC sent vegetarian pot stickers. Chris sent Better Than Sex Cake, annotated with horrified comments from Lance and Joey.(1)

Some time afterwards I noticed Ephemera had a request up at fic_requests for a threesome featuring Chris, Lance and Joey. Aha, I thought, and wrote Home Cooking, which involved each of them making their Christmas recipes for a celebration meal. The dessert was characterised as a lethal weapon, not unreasonably—it's basically chocolate cake supersaturated with condensed milk, plus added topping and crushed chocolate bars.

And somehow, when we had the first Camp Sparkle, it seemed reasonable to make one of these deadly cakes. We adapted it somewhat (none of us was prepared to eat Cool Whip even if we could find it, so we used whipped cream, and British sweets) and re-christened it Death Cake, and it's been on the menu ever since.

*pride*


(1) If anyone would like them, I probably still have the file somewhere and can send .pdfs

Comments

[ephemera]

If you don't, I still have them and could scan :D

[pensnest]

No probs, I found them in my popslash folder.

[fleurrochard]

I would love that pdf!

[pensnest]

On it's way - let me know if you don't get it.

[rikes]

It's the Christmas gift that keeps on giving! :D

[zebraljb.livejournal.com]

Just out of curiosity...what's wrong with Cool Whip?

[pensnest]

Well, firstly, we don't seem to have it here. Secondly, it sounds like an Artificial Substance—though of course, that may not be the case. The nearest 'authentic' alternative appeared to be Instant Whip, which was *definitely* out.

[brandywine28.livejournal.com]

You're not missing much. Cool Whip is entirely non-dairy; it's pretty much what I imagine a mouthful of shaving cream tastes like.

[zebraljb.livejournal.com]

Two lines in the Cooking story just made me smile...this one:

Joey suspected it was the terrible power of Lance's eyebrows that had made him give way.

and the one about Lance going from dork to siren. SO true.

*love*

[pensnest]

I was very happy with the eyebrow stuff! Thanks.

[pensnest]

It occurs to me you may not understand the full glory of Cramp. If you need an explanation...

[zebraljb.livejournal.com]

I can honestly say I have no clue what you're even talking about. Cramp?

[pensnest]

Ahaha. Well. Did you read the Lava Lamp story? Do bear in mind that it's nobody's idea of great literature. In fact, my first experience of it was early in my popslash life when I went to nopseud's house for a sparkly weekend. mickeym was there, and we compelled her to read the story aloud. This was late at night early in the morning, after a couple of rum cocktails, and we laughed so much my stomach hurt the following day.

Well. Apparently inspired by this, mickeym wrote a 'serious' take on the Lava Lamp story. Then someone else, and someone else (see turlough's list here, and DO NOT MISS turps33's retelling of it in pictures). And inevitably it was nopseud who came up with the pairing name for Chris/Lamp.

It is now traditional to have a Lava Lamp story reading at the end of Camp Sparkle, and some of the more insane of us have written Other Lamp Pairings. I'm sure one could write meta about it, with tongue clamped into cheek.

[zebraljb.livejournal.com]

I tried to read the Lava Lamp story. I TRIED. But lava lamp part not withstanding (!!!!!), it is seriously one of the WORST things I ever read. I sat here and said out loud at one point, "Oh, HELL no," and my son yelled up, "Mom, that's a bad word," to which I replied quietly, "If you were old enough to read THIS, you'd agree."

The retelling in pictures, though? OMG. HYSTERICAL.

[brandywine28.livejournal.com]

I made a valiant effort, I did, but I pretty much lost it at "JC's turgid meat". I mean, REALLY?

Thank you for the crash course in Cramp. I've been hearing vague lava lamp-related whisperings for awhile now, but I never fully understood them. And now that I do...I think I need to go lie down for a bit.