What do you do when your brother is one of these kids?

I've been wrestling with this one for a while now. I think it's time to get it all out in the open. LJ, I'm sorry if you read this champ but it's time for some religion. My brother goes Larping. If you're normal, you have no idea what this means. Even if you're generally abnormal, you probably have no idea what this is.

Upon returning to the homestead a couple of weekends ago, I was informed that my younger brother was camping. Camping? But LJ's an indoor kid I said to myself. Here's an abbreviated version of the conversation with my parents that followed:

Me: "Where is he camping?"
Dad: "Out in western Mass. somewhere."
Me: " Who did he go with? He hates camping."
Mom: (acting cagey and embarassed) "You know, some of his gaming friends...and the ex-girlfriend..."
Me: "What!? They just broke up right? Do you really think that's a good idea?"
Dad: (getting defensive and trying to escape to the den) "That's what we said. He said they weren't really going to see eachother...Besides, he already paid for it"
Me: "Paid for it? What kind of camping trip do you have to pay for? And how is he not going to see the ex? She weighs 300 pounds."

This went back and forth for a little while and cycled through several levels of visible discomfort and evasiveness from the parents until they finally came out with it.

LJ was on a role-playing camping trip a la Dungeons & Dragons at a renaissance fairground in the western Massachusetts with about 70 other people who would be dressed in full costume and partaking in epic battle recreations with homemade weapons.


These are some honest-to-God Larpers

That's right. LJ emerged from the woods with this kid who definitely looked like he had spent some significant time under a mossy rock. When I asked what was wrong with his forehead (it was all red and broken out) he said his skin was reacting to being covered in greasepaint all weekend. Yikes.