Thank God It's... Valentines? Just party like it's a Friday!

[otherfathering]

Who: Other Father (otherfathering) and YOU! Anyone and everyone are welcome.
Where: the Other House backgarden, on the outskirts of Goldenrod and Route 34
When: Valentines Day Evening
Summary: In an attempt to keep people from needing to use their own lights, as well as having fun and letting his garden shine as it should, Father's hosting a garden party!
Rating: E? how do ratings work?
Log:

It was no secret that the Other Father loved to garden, and more as such loved his garden. If he wasn't working with music or children or working in general, he was usually to be found in the garden, planting some new seed, harvesting some strange berry, or pretty-ing up the place with lights and ornaments. With the complexity of the garden, one wrong placement could have made it cluttered; Other Father's placements made it look wonderful. Just like the Otherworld, the family garden was indeed a fantastic garden.

The family garden always glowed, but it struggled as it tried its hardest to grow over the neighboring lights of Goldenrod, never quite looking as beautiful as it should. Father was sure the garden was sad, just as he was that it couldn't fill its potential... and then the blackout was announced. The blackout in which most Goldenrod facilities and homes would turn off their lights and leave the skies dark, to dim their lights for a loving mating season of two marvelous Pokémon. And it gave him an idea. The blackout was optional, so if he were to host an open garden party, then those who attended wouldn't need to use their own lights! Let the garden glow, stop a couple of houses glowing! In his mind, it was a good deed that could work.

And so the garden had been set; the multi-coloured lights shone around the plants and berries and plastic bird-Pokémon, they draped over the branches of the living centerpiece that was the tree, its treehouse that the children had built sat alongside the net of tiny bulbs; they continued onwards and illuminated the performance area, draped over the speaker and around the microphone stand, the area that placed beside the BBQ (luckily not let lit) that still had no idea who would be its cook. Father and his little helpers had made sure the garden was perfect, just like his family and their home.

Tonight would be magical if all went well, and he sincerely hoped it would help the cause of love; there was never quite enough of that, especially on Valentines day.

((ooc; welcome to the party log! The log will be divided into sections as most group logs are. Post under the sections and generally party- or if your character is doing something special, just post a new section.

Have fun, and Happy Valentines!))

Comments

Mingling

[otherfathering]

The garden may not be the biggest in Johto, but it's certainly not small; probably one of the better perks of living in a five-bedroomed house!

For those who are just looking around or find themselves no-where in particular, but are chatty just the same!

[vulpesvivus]

[One trenchcoat-wearing trainer in glasses seemed to be keeping to himself, standing off to the side with a Chatot on his shoulder. He seemed oddly withdrawn and tired, observing in silence rather than approach anyone himself.]

[timelymaid]

[ Aradia's perfectly willing to chat with anyone and everyone, although she probably knows a good portion of the guests. She got to the party early to help set up - parties are compeltely and totally exciting to her, still. Despite certain entreaties regarding ghost pokemon from the network, she's flanked by a Chandelure, which seems to fit the theme of the party.

She's also actually dressed up in a dress, courtesy Kanaya. Luckily for Kanaya there aren't any ruins nearby, or the dress might suffer.

Do you approach? ]

[ghostytrainer]

[Suits are good attire for garden parties right? Because this is the first excuse John has had to wear his Christmas present and damn if he isn't taking advantage of it. He's dressed in a rather sharp black suit with a navy dress shirt and matching fedora. Unfortunately...he opted for the garishly green argyle tie instead of the more plain and sensible one Rose got him. It matches his socks, okay? He's also sporting a square bandage on one cheek. His morning was pretty eventful and not exactly the most pleasant, but he seems to be in a good enough mood now.]

[Oddly, there's a distinct lack of Lopunny accompanying him tonight. In fact, his Lampent appears to be his only Pokemon companion for the night.]

[razputin]

[Raz is on a mission--

No, wait, he's not. However, the goggled boy is still goggled, with a Woobat sleeping on his head. Yes, sleeping though all the excitment. However. He's not the one being approached. No, if you come near him, he'll be coming up to you.]
Hey there!

[ragnarok_strike]

[Also, Clem? Laguna's here. But he's here for everybody! Really, he's just wandering around, almost adventure-game-protag like. So anybody can bother him! Yay!]

[otherfathering]

[If Other Father's about the garden, he's probably greeting guests! He's constantly smiling as he wanders the garden in his crisp, red suit, a small Ditto on his shoulder and a Gloom in pursuit. His other Pokémon aren't too far off either, but they're probably helping or showing off as usual; can't say half of them don't like the spotlight, or even just the chance to make friends!]

[quickattackjack]

_{[Jack has been drifting in and out of the crowd being generally cheerful and social. However, as the night wares on, he grows tired and has retired to standing next to one of the plastic Doduo near the pond, glass in hand. He'll catch his second win soon enough!]}

[neurotoxined]

[Well, "chatty" is a bit of an overstatement, but GLaDOS is...well, she's here and that has to count for something, right?

Like a fair amount of the people attending here, she seems to have decided that suits are perfectly acceptable attire for a garden party, gender be damned; hers is black and sleek-looking, and she's left her waist-length white hair down for the time being. Very monochrome, all of it, except for the pin at her lapel, glittering with a row of multicolored stones set in a row. It's not a particularly refined thing - something bought at the department store rather than the high-class jewelry shops - but she's not picky about that sort of thing, anyway.

Admittedly, she's not too sure what to do with herself now that she's here; she's present less because of the invitation issued over the device and more because...well, there's obviously a party going on over here and she wanted to see what it was for. She still has no idea, admittedly, and has taken to wandering around the garden as a whole looking as though she had fun once and it was terrible; it's kind of her default expression in situations like this, just because it's better than (unsure)ing at everything.]

[wontturntostone]

[Kanaya wasn't certain precisely why she had come to the party, because Other Father sort of...worried...her, but in the end that was a reason in and of itself, right? She wanted to see what the strange button-man was like in person (and confiscate any needles she might happen to find...) and an excuse to see some people wasn't a bad thing.]

[Granted, she wasn't very good at social situations, even if she could fake it rather well when she had to, so she was off to the side for now, in a flowing purple skirt and black blouse, her hands folded behind her as she watches everyone.]

[tentacletrainer]

[[Rose, dressed in a simple deep purple dress and with her right arm in a sling, found somewhere to sit pretty quickly upon arriving. The day had really worn her out! But she would never skip a party hosted by Other Father, so here she was.

She's not trying to be antisocial really - in fact she's more than willing to call anyone familiar over to talk, or go to them if they just can't hear her. Sticking close to her side is her ever present Espeon, Guile, as well as Halos, her shy Ampharos. While the former is pretty chatty, the latter is...well.

He's kind of hiding behind Rose and hoping no one really notices him.]]

[shippingmath]

[Doing social things in the middle of large groups isn't exactly Dirk's favorite thing, but he's here and hanging around the edges of the party, paying more attention to the Murkrow that's sitting on his shoulder (and occasionally attempting to sit in his hair) than the people around him.]

BBQ + Food Table

[otherfathering]

The BBQ's all set up, and there's a variety of meat on the grill; though be wary of the cook, because food poisoning could very easily be a thing. The grill's going to be changing hands all night though, so feel free to cook your own things or take whatever's going! It's all free.

The table beside the barbeque's piled with different bowls of salads and snacks and Pokéchow! Just try not to get the former and the latter mixed up; couldn't imagine that would be very tasty. There's drink too! Both non and alcoholic- though try not to drink too much, since there are children around.

[ghostytrainer]

[Early in the evening, John can be seen placing a small tray of Litwick strawberry shortcakes on the table next to the grill. He made more than enough to cover all his Valentines, so he figured he may as well share. Half of them have little chocolate bow ties, while the other half sport chocolate hair bows in front of their strawberry flames.]

[Later on, he and his Lampent will wander back over to the grill at Rose's prompting because Father no. Stahp. It's such a lovely evening and food poisoning really would ruin it. Plus, John likes making burgers almost as much as he likes eating them, so it's really a win-win situation. He won't be there all night though, he does have other plans after all.]

[ragnarok_strike]

[Well, Alex the Zorua doesn't know how to cook. He is but a young Zorua, after all, but he wants the good-smelling meat.

So you wanna know what the Zorua does?

There is now a small child sitting with his nose up to the grill, almost near enough to get burned, with a frown on his face, and his tail tucked away in his pants. He looks so sad! Won't somebody pity the Zorua kid?]

[tentacletrainer]

[[Rose's contribution to the table is, unsurprisingly, an assortment of sweet things. All appropriately themed, she brought plenty of chocolates and even managed to bake some brownies. Her recipe book is expanding!

However, the chow she brought for the Pokemon is much more varied and a few large bowls are left on the ground under the table for shorter ones to reach, while a few - clearly labeled - ones are also left on the table for the taller Pokemon to enjoy.

Later on, she's definitely enjoying one of John's burgers, sitting once again but this time a little closer to the crowd. She's by the food stand though, so if you can't find something she would be glad to point you in the right direction.]]

Performance Area

[otherfathering]

The microphone sits on its own stone-patio stage, and there's a range of instruments that Father's dragged out from the music room. Guitars are connected to amps, there's a speaker on either side of the mic., and the piano's been brought out into the garden (and Other Father's really hoping the hail from earlier doesn't come back; he's not sure his treasured piano can even handle that). All instruments are free-for-all, and so long as the mic. is empty, then it's yours to take!

Show the world your talent, Route.

[otherfathering]

[When Other Father's not at the grill or mingling with others, you'll probably be able to hear him instead. If the performance area's empty, he's usually keeping the music flowing with a variety of songs, some very familiar and some not so much, but all played loud enough in an attempt to drown out the music that's already there.

But some songs are played slow, and along with music.

A song he swore he once heard when riding his bike to work.

And of course a classic from the Lucky Channel.

Throughout the night he plays a couple he's learnt or 'made-up' throughout his stay. Dr. Wurmple on keyboard, A song about being impressed, an upbeat song about a lot of creatures and the polka on piano, and one or two jazz pieces. He's really keeping himself busy, but it's what he enjoys!

He takes a break in between every-other track, as well as leaving the stage to give others a chance if they so wish.]

[itsudemoissho]

[When Takuto isn't helping Mitsuki perform with his acoustic guitar - he's either enjoying the party or-- singing himself.

It's been a long while since he's actually sang in front of people, but there had to be a place where he'd start doing that again and it might as well be now.

So he's playing his guitar and singing Eternal Snow. Enjoy the show.]

Light Show

[otherfathering]

Later on the evening, the lights begin to flicker and pattern around the garden's edge, certain blocks of colour dominating, then making way for another colour, and then another colour. Other Father felt that a party needed to be a show, and that a show needed a big finisher! Luckily the store clerks were helpful enough to tell him what he needed to buy (what lovely people! He sometimes misses his job at the store...), and it's thanks to those that this was even possible.

A certain motherly Vileplume, an over-excited Dragonite, and a very happy, purple Audino dance around the tree, adorning necklaces of lights and neon. Looks like teaching them rhythm for battles comes in handy for other things, too!

[timelymaid]

[ Once the light show starts, Aradia can be found seated nearby to watch, Chandelure still in tow. She's pretty interested in the show, but she's also still up for socializing forever. ]

[willrememberthis]

[Clementine still hangs off a bit to the side, Ben the Furret standing up periodically to peer around, hoping to be unobtrusive.

All the same, she's forgotten about being nervous. Even without her Pokémon, after all, she wasn't alone with strangers in this lovely house - and even Laguna is among the sweet and trustworthy people here after all! And so she's confident until further notice that there's nothing to fear. This house can be trusted. Honestly, she isn't even thinking even about the "Other Father" this very moment, to whom she still had a particular unsure curiosity that had done the most to draw her here.

She's just enjoying. Even Lee and Carley are, and Ben, in between his dutiful insistence on being a good sentry - the little trainer and the five Pokémon with her are standing out of the way in the garden, watching the Pokémon dance around the tree of lights.]

Setting Up

[otherfathering]

With night coming in fast, Other Father and his Pokémon are working hard to ready the garden! The grass is luckily drying from the hail storms earlier in the day, but its delayed setting anything up on its green-y lushness. 8(

For those who want to help out, here's the place for you!

[timelymaid]

[ SETTING UP, HECK YEAH. Aradia can be found prior to the party helping to hang lights around the garden, her ghost pokemon assisting.

Well, mostly assisting. ]

[viiru2alert]

[You know there's a problem when the Pokémon is doing more to help set up than the Trainer.]

[Other Father may notice a Claydol hovering around, watching the decorations go up attentively... but is it doing more than watching? If something drops, then there's a chance it might be surrounded in a blue glow as it's hung back in the position it came from. Seems this clever one wants to help out while its Trainer has wandered off to go explore the house, probably to avoid having to do any work.]