We Survived the Snowmageddon

[worktodo]

Who: Albert Rosenfield (worktodo) and whoever is congregating at the Justice Farm for the Christmas holiday!
Where: El Rancho del Justicia, aka Albert's house in Saffron City
When: Anytime between Monday the 24th and Wednesday the 26th!
Summary: A lot has changed in a month, but some things never do. Losers getting together to fail their way through the holiday season is one of them.
Rating: Individual threads may vary, but let's go with G overall and warn otherwise!
Log:

Despite generally doing a very excellent Grinch impression, Albert doesn't actually hate Christmas. Granted, it's not one of his favorite holidays the way that Thanksgiving is — it's a little too overdone, a little too commercial, lacking in some of the spirit of togetherness in favor of the spirit of consumerism — but it is decidedly a holiday, and once again Johto has presented him with a situation where he is forced to make a choice. For the second time this year (by Albert's reckoning), Johto appears to have done everything in its power to prevent them from putting on a holiday, including but not limited to summoning up the actual apocalypse. The question that begs to be asked, therefore, is simply: is Albert willing to surrender Christmas in the face of all these apparent attempts to ruin it?

The answer, naturally, is: oh, hell no.

It is, however, an undeniably different atmosphere from the one that filled the house on Thanksgiving. Most of the occupants of the house are worse off now than they were then, be it emotionally or physically — some from spooky encounters, some from harsh truths, and some from going out in the apocalyptic snow like the damn fools they are — so if there's slightly less pep and enthusiasm saturating the grounds, that could certainly be why. Any decorations applied to the outside of the house have been battered at best and outright wrecked at worst. But as the slightly paraphrased song lyric goes, "Though the weather outside is frightful, by the fire it's so delightful", and the interior of the house is a thankfully different story.

On Monday, Albert will be spending the Eve of Christmas largely in the kitchen, having allotted the whole day for getting all the components of Christmas dinner prepared and readied in advance; on Thanksgiving, it's a fundamental part of the holiday tradition to run around the kitchen like a madman trying to get dinner to the table on time, but for Christmas, he'd rather everything just go smoothly. Early arrivals are welcome to hang out in the cozy parts of the house, grab some cocoa, and carefully avoid him; otherwise, they might get drafted into menial labor like shoveling out the front walk or putting the finishing touches on the interior decor before the party officially kicks off.

By Tuesday, it's all Christmas all the time; there is no victory quite so sweet as the one that comes hard-won, and as far as Albert is concerned, the most effective "screw you" to Johto's Snowmageddon is putting on an occasion that is positively bursting with holly and jolly anyway. Somewhere near the kitchen, Zack the Porygon2 is contributing by blasting from his Gear's speakers a concert of every Christmas song he knows (of which there are three: "Feliz Navidad", "Grandma Got Run Over By A Stantler Reindeer", and the Weather Girls' "It's Raining Men"). A stately (albeit slightly lopsided) Christmas tree that is probably the Johto equivalent of a Douglas fir is set up in a corner of the living room near the fireplace — which is burning merrily — and its branches are decorated with makeshift ornaments like Pokeballs and paper throwing stars along with the standard colored bauble variety. Stuff your presents below; there'll be time for opening them later, but for now they're part of the decor. There's holly on the piano and fake candles in the windows, and you better believe at least half of those doorways have mistletoe strategically placed near them. Don't get caught! (Or do, if that's what you're here for.)

The one new and interesting addition to the house can be found in a corner of the living room, where a little space has been carved out for a small end table topped with coasters, a chair, and a tripod apparatus just the right size for holding a standard Pokegear. Got someone to call and wish a Merry Christmas? Do it from the comfort of this corner like it's Masterpiece Theater.

But however Tuesday is spent, there's sure to be a lot of love, gifting, and good Christmas cheer. Or else.

When Wednesday comes along, it'll be the standard post-Christmas wind-down — leftovers aplenty in the kitchen, trash bags of crumpled wrapping paper tucked into the corners, and a nice low-pressure environment in which to interact, gush over gifts, and enjoy the spirit of the season a little longer before getting right back to work on Important Business. For some, that might mean playing in the snow or having a snowball fight; for others, that might mean coordinating federal agent business for the future. But either way, it's another Christmas survived, and that's what really matters, right?


[OOC: Just like last time, this is an open log for everybody coming to Albert's for Christmas! Feel free to start your own threads as you please — open them to everybody, close them to specific people, whatever works for you. Just make a note in the header of what day it's taking place on and who all's invited, and have fun, everybody! Also, for people who aren't physically present at the Farm on Christmas, feel free to use the designated Skype Thread™ to chat with them over video anyway!]

Comments

[foolishwren]

Yep!

_{[No worries, Heather's not making any attempt to hide it.]}

[doitrockapella]

All right, then. Fish it out for me and I'll open it right now.

[She's not lazy or averse to doing it herself, but there are a few presents under that tree with her name on them and going to retrieve Heather's from the stack will just make her think about all of them again...]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Heather needs no further encouragement. With a broad, enthusiastic grin, she breaks away from the chair and scampers over to the tree-- despite the darkness of the weeks leading up to this holiday, it's perhaps a glimpse of a much younger Heather, maybe even the one who parked in front of the TV on Saturday mornings and watched Carmen's animated escapades.]

[She grabs the parcel out from under the tree and plops it down on the armrest before returning to her spot, beaming.]</sub>

I don't know if it was enough for your challenge, but...

_{[And indeed, at first glance... it probably doesn't seem like enough AT ALL. It's a gift basket, with a nice but fairly generic assortment of edible goodies and an innocuous envelope tucked in there somewhere.]}

[doitrockapella]

[Much in the same way that Hiccup has such an innate knack for reminding Carmen of Zack (the human, not the Porygon), there's always been something about Heather that's called to mind thoughts of Ivy, and for one brief and fleeting moment the two mesh together — Heather's enthusiasm transposed onto thoughts of the kids back home, and the sudden thought of what their Christmasses must be like when they're not chasing her, and when the caper is over.

(What do they do when they're not spending it with her?)

But then it passes, and the basked is plunked down, and she turns her attention back to the present moment to investigate what it is she's been given.]

"Something I couldn't get myself", wasn't it?

[She makes a small show of riffling through the assortment of boxes, as if for emphasis, before eventually plucking out the envelope.]

It looks like this is your last shot at succeeding, then.

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Plopping her chin in her hands, Heather just watches over Carmen's shoulder, trying not to beam too hard.]

[Because she's pretty sure she nailed it.]</sub>

Oh yeah... I think that's what you said... maybe.

<sub>[Inside the envelope ...]




[... Is a brightly-colored flyer.]

[An advertisement for an in-town circus that stopped in Saffron due to the bad (read: apocalyptic) weather. Night performances in the big-top carry on throughout January and early February and the proceeds go to the damages caused by the Regis.]

[Heather is silent. c:]</sub>

[doitrockapella]

[She opens the envelope up with casual but unmistakeable enthusiasm, half-expecting a puzzle or quotation to be waiting for when she unearths the colored paper, but then —

Her brow furrows slightly as her eyes flick over the page.

The circus. She loves circuses, but how is — is it a dare to steal it? A challenge? Just simply the heads-up that it's in town?]

What is this?

[It's not sharp enough to be a demand nor confused enough to be a question; it's more philosophical, lighter, waiting for the something more that she knows must be coming.]

[foolishwren]

_{[Heather is completely quiet until the question comes. Then, shrugging her shoulders, she slides around to rest her arms on the armrest rather than the back of the chair, falling to a kneel.]}

Well...

That circus is in town-- I've passed by the tent, it looks pretty cool. I've never actually been to a circus, though... and my roomie's pretty ... crowd-phobic. Same with Dad.

_{[Idly, she picks at the upholstery on the chair.]}

So... I dunno, I was thinking that maybe if I had a little help convincing him... we could all go check it out some night.

You know, us three.



_{[She could probably convince Crow and Kaito to go with her, and in fact might go with them too at some point (proceeds go to charity, after all!), but that's not the point.]}

[doitrockapella]

You and your father.

[She summarizes, reading easily between the lines.]

...And me.

[That one comes a little slower, a little more thoughtfully, with the hint of a question lurking beneath it. She thinks she's right, but this is a rare moment where she really doesn't want to be wrong.]

[foolishwren]

Yeah!

I mean, you know. If you don't have anything better to do.

<sub>[Pls pls pls?]

[DAD HAS TO LISTEN TO AN EDUCATIONAL CHILDREN'S TELEVISION CHARACTER.]</sub>

[doitrockapella]

[She ducks her head a little, laughing more to herself than to Heather. She couldn't know; it's a coincidence, surely. And something about that makes it all the more charming.]

I like the circus. And it's for a good cause.

[She regards the flier again.]

I'll convince your father. Leave it to me.

[foolishwren]

_{[The grin had become a little more subdued (though no less inwardly-gleeful) as she pitched the idea... but it returns to a full bloom almost instantly.]}

You will?

Awesome!

Jeez, a circus. I always wanted to go to one so bad when I was a kid, you know?

_{[She knew it-- this present was so nailed.]}

[doitrockapella]

You won't be disappointed, if this one is anything like the ones I remember.

[A beat passes, and then she decides to just go for it; it's Christmas, after all.]

I love the circus.

[foolishwren]

I kinda figured you might.

_{[She doesn't particularly remember anything SPECIFICALLY concerning circuses from the show... but it's the sort of thing a high-flying person like Carmen would like, or at least so went Heather's logic.]}

... So... did I win the challenge?

[doitrockapella]

[She taps the edge of the flier against the side of her face in a slow rhythm, idly musing.]

You did. Even if it turns out we never make it to the circus.

[Pause.]

Though I hope we will.

[foolishwren]

_{[The grin grows.]}

Me too.

... I'm glad it won. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea or if it'd just be corny.

[doitrockapella]

To be fair, there aren't many ways you could've won on practical things.

Have you found a use for your gifts yet?

[foolishwren]

Yeeeaah, I was looking at a pretty nice camping kit earlier... but you could get that for yourself pretty easy. <sub>[Plus, she probably already had all the equipment in it, rendering the point even mooter.]

[She grins at the question, though.]</sub>

Well, not yet... but I have a couple ideas.

... And the grappling hook got dropped on Henry's foot at one point, but that wasn't really useful, it was just funny.

[doitrockapella]

[Not to mention camping isn't precisely a favorite of hers (being more used to upscale accommodations by now), and particularly not so with the recent scare over what big bad wolves might be lurking in the woods. So the mootness isn't such a bad thing, really.]

If it's making you think, then I've done something right.

[EDUTAINMENT, EVEN ON CHRISTMAS.]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[... Y-yeeeeaaah... although ironically, her encounters with the demons of Twin Peaks over that weekend (and the ... past weekends...) had all taken place indoors. Or in the city. She had not yet been taught to fear the woods.]

[If anything, travel's starting to look a little comforting.]</sub>

Even if the things I'm thinking could probably get me in trouble?

_{[SCALING THE TIN TOWER FROM THE OUTSIDE WHERE THE ANGRY MONKS CAN'T CHASE HER OFF: POTENTIALLY A THING.]}

[doitrockapella]

[BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, ALMOST STOLE THE BELLS OFF THE TOP BUT THEN COOP HAPPENED.]

Do you think I'm really one to talk about thinking of things that could get a person in trouble?

[Have you seen Mt. Mortar lately.]

[foolishwren]

_{[Well, Heather and her pals have a personal vendetta against the monks of Johto, so it'd be more a HAHAHA SCREW YOU, YOU STUPID BALD ROBED GUYS WE'RE CLIMBING YOUR TOWER than an attempt at theft, but...]}

... True. I guess I'd need to go to dad for that.

_{[How do you feel knowing that you are a terrible influence, Carmen? ARE YOU PROUD. YOU SHOULD BE.]}